The Devil of Zero
by Knightmare Gundam of Ni
Summary: He was denied Heaven, and used by Hell. She is derided and distraught. Both are proud, and powerful. Halkeginia is not ready... Rated T for violence and gore.
1. Glossary of Terms

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer: **Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

Glossary of Terms

**Devil: **The highest orders of infernal beings, Devils are the remnants of the traitorous Celestial Legions that followed Lucifer in the War in Heaven. Celestials of all kinds, from the lower Angels, Archangels and Principalities, through the Authorities, Virtues and Dominions, and even including members of the highest orders of Ophanim, Cherubim and Seraphim, all were twisted by the environment of Hell and the weight of their sin into hideous, grotesque forms. Despite being cast down, the Devils still retain much of the might they had as Celestials, giving them horrible power over aspects of the universe. Due to their might, the dimensional boundaries are especially binding against these monsters, keeping them from crossing into the Mortal Realm without the aid of a powerful summons or a Hell Gate.

It is believed that Sparda, the Legendary Dark Knight himself, was originally a Fallen Seraph who later reclaimed his history and fought against his former comrades during the Darkest Ages of Earth thousands of years ago.

**Demon: **The lowest dregs of Hell, the origins of the many species of Demons are varied, from interbreeding between once-segregated lines of Fallen Celestials, to once-human souls warped into unrecognizable beasts by the torments of Hell. Including the weakest of all Infernal Denizens, Demons are capable of crossing the barrier regardless of the presence of a Hell Gate, although they lose large quantities of power in doing so. By consuming large amounts of human souls, a Lesser Demon can become a Greater Demon, or a Greater Demon ascend to the ranks of the Devils. The environments most capable of supporting such evolutions are war-torn battlefields, both World Wars being notable in aiding the ascendance of almost three dozen Greater Demons into Devils.

**Infernal Energy: **A corrupt and insidious energy permeating the body of all Demons and Devils, Infernal Energy fuels the most powerful of their abilities and their twisted sorceries. Often the goal of a mortal summoning a Demon or Devil is to obtain a measure of this power, allowing them to further their own schemes.

**Devil Arm: **Weapons crafted from or imbued with the souls of Devils, Devil Arms are created whenever a strong-willed being slays one of the Fallen and binds the damned one into a form suiting its abilities and magic, forcing the Devil into the service of whoever can match or exceed their willpower. One who wields the Arm of a Devil can call upon its awesome powers to aid them in battle. Mortals be warned, for even constrained so, the Devil inside can still corrupt the unwary. Examples include Force Edge/Sparda, Rebellion, and Yamato, respectively the Devil Arms of Sparda, Dante and Vergil.

**Devil Trigger: **One of the most potent tools in the arsenal of a Devil is the ability to trigger a transformation of its physical form, using Infernal Energy to fuel the enhancement of its most basic attributes, including strength, speed, regeneration, and toughness. The form shown by this transformation is the truest expression of the Devil's very soul. The Devil Triggers of the Sparda Twins are unique because of both their youth and mixed heritage, being unstable and taking on the qualities of whatever Devil Arms they wield at the time. With age and experience, they cement their souls and achieve a more stable and powerful Devil Trigger.

**Desperation Mode: **A technique of last resort, this is a cheap imitation of the Devil Trigger, used by Demons in times of great peril and personal danger. When a powerful Demon finds itself grievously wounded and assailed on all sides, it channels its Infernal Energy back into itself, empowering its strength and speed by a great margin. Used unwisely, this can mean a very final end for the Demon, as it can devour their very soul in supporting their body if left unchecked.

**Sorcery: **The magic of the Fallen, Sorcery uses Infernal Energy to effect changes upon the universe, differing from the innate abilities of Devils and Demons in that any competent being can use any Sorcerous Technique, so long as they hold the Infernal Energy required. Some examples of Sorcery are Vergil's Summoned Swords, the Spardas' Dimensional Armory, and Dante's Infinity Shot.

**Celestial: **An inclusive, generic term referring to all the denizens of Heaven, Celestials are grouped into three spheres, each consisting of three ranks. From lowest to highest, these are the Third Sphere, consisting of Angels, Archangels and Principalities; the Second Sphere, consisting of Authorities, Virtues and Dominions; and the First Sphere, consisting of Ophanim, Cherubim and Seraphim. Inside of each rank are different species with various forms to suit their functions, with two different factions: The Guard, which are the most humanoid Celestials that fit the preconceptions of mortals, intended to deal with external matters, such as Earth and Hell; and the Laguna, the more bestial and strangely formed Celestials intended to deal with internal matters regarding Heaven.

**Grigori/Watchers: **Disgraced Celestials that lusted after mortal women and copulated with them, birthing the Nephilim race and beginning the Trinity War between Hell, Heaven and the Nephilim. Rather than casting them down into Hell as with Lucifer and his confederates, the Grigori were chained and forced to Earth with the mortals they sinned for, their greatest powers sealed for all eternity.

**Nephilim: **Half-Celestial, half-mortal beings with terrible power, individually unmatched by Celestial or Infernal. This race started a centuries-long war with Heaven and Hell, wreaking havoc and spreading destruction until the Infernal and Celestial armies finally cornered and fought them down to the man, leaving only four left that pledged servitude to the Council, the mediators of Reality.

**Purgatory: **A sort of sub-Realm within a Realm, Purgatory is the medium through which Celestials act within a Mortal Realm while remaining unseen, while allowing them to interact with the primary Realm both physically and magically. Through this dimensional film, Celestials observe a Mortal Realm, scouting and spying out any signs of Demons in order to hunt them down and kill them, and for a long time, Purgatory was the Celestial's trump card over the Infernals. Until said Infernals helped found the Umbra Witches, who created Sorceries to break into Purgatory, and the Devils created the Limbo Sorcery.

**Limbo:** An Infernal clone of Purgatory, Limbo is a dimension created through a Sorcery that is powered by a Hell Gate or something of similar potency. Similar to Purgatory, beings within Limbo are invisible to those in the primary Realm, although unlike Purgatory, they are also intangible. Limbo is also distinct from Purgatory in that the caster of the Sorcery can control the dimension in any number of ways, warping its internal reality to alter any aspect of the environment including gravity, form and function. Also unlike Purgatory, beings within Limbo can forcefully pull others into it, subjecting them to the whims of the dimension's owner and allowing them to be attacked by those within Limbo.

**Magic: **The ability of Halkeginia's nobles to manipulate the very elements of creation, magic uses a mage's willpower to focus and shape the elements of Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind to create an effect in reality, using incantations and a foci to concentrate and focus the mage's will. Every mage has an affinity for an element, the one with which they are best suited to use in their magecraft.

**Mage: **A practitioner of magic, mages are always of noble birth, and are said to have been gifted their abilities by God. Mages are ranked according to how many iterations of one or more elements they can use in a spell, ranging from Dot-class mages that can only use a single element, to Square-classes that can combine all four elements, four iterations of a single element, or anywhere in between to create astonishing effects.

**Void: **The Fifth Element of Magic, Void was the element of the Founder Brimir, the one who established Halkeginia's current system of magic. Void is considered to be the Lost Element, due to the fact that none since Brimir have used it in recorded history.

**Familiars: **The servants and companions of mages, familiars are considered to be integral in the development of a mage, and the ritual to summon and bind them is said to choose only the familiar best suited for the individual performing the rite. Often, the summoned familiar is a creature that is intimate with the summoner's elemental affinity.

- The Author -

For those new to both Devil May Cry and Familiar of Zero.

Note: The definitions here are not necessarily canon in regards to either series' respective universe, just the ones that I fell explain aspects of the backstory and certain parts of Devil May Cry's gameplay.

Edit: Added some entries in light of the future events I planned.  
>Edit 2: Added the Purgatory and Limbo entries in light of the backstory alterations I have to plan out<p> 


	2. Prologue

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

Prologue

– ? –

**Location: ?  
>Time: ?<strong>

It was endless. Stretching forever in every direction, beyond the limits of my sight, was nothing.

A void.

I can't say I didn't see this coming. I knew that this could be my fate if my endeavor failed. Certainly, my numerous sins would bar me from any paradise depicted in religious script, even if any such fantastical place existed.

No Heaven would want me. My unwillingness to repent would be clear to any celestial judge.

Hell was done with me. One of its Princes had used me, but failed to do so effectively. As if I could have accomplished anything against Him in the state that worthless mass had left me in. The agony from his defeat would make him churn in place for millennia, distracting him from my leash, before he got the stomach to try again, and none of his lieutenants would have the gall to try and control me.

Sinned too heavily for anything less than the most absolute punishment, yet denied due to fear that I would throw off the jailor's bindings and conquer. What was left but nothingness for one such as me?

Time passes without note. I cannot tell if I have been here for seconds or centuries. I do not even have the beating of my heart.

I find myself wondering about the world. And Him. Despite our differences, our fights, I can't help but hope he survives…..or better yet, thrives. Despite me actively searching, He proved the more powerful, defeating me once, during the apex of my quest, and again, years later, despite the 'gifts' my Princely lord had bestowed on me.

He, truly, was the best of our family. And with Him still fouling the world…..I can endure here, until the End of All That Is.

…

What is this? A light? Perhaps….no, Heaven would not claim me now. Most likely, one of the other Fallen. A particularly proud one.

Well, even without my blade it shall find me a hard slave to break.

– The Zero –

"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, Heed my summoning..."

Louise was desperate. Several times had she tried to summon a familiar, each resulting in nothing but explosions.

"And bring forth..."

_It has to work this time…..it HAS TO!_

"My familiar!"

The chant ended, and an explosion, greater than all the others before it, heralded the ritual's coming completion. A wind swept through the crowd, chilling and bringing with it a wave of bestial terror that petrified the students and their new familiars. The smoke cleared, and they beheld what Louise's spell had wrought.

A man stood, taller than any present. White hair, so bright it seemed to glow in the sunlight, hung around his head, hiding his eyes from sight. A blue coat of strange design wafted softly in the breeze caused by the explosion, with a silvery, serpentine design on the right side. Under that he wore a strange black shirt, and pants, both obviously woven from fine silk. Under the sleeves of his coat, he wore fingerless leather gloves, and boots of the same adorned his feet.

The crowd stood awed by the stranger, staring for several long seconds, before he moved. Slowly, almost as though not to startle them, the man lifted his right hand to his head, fingers curling into his hair….before with a single, violent movement he flipped it back, hand running through it and revealing a pale face that could have been carved from marble, and cold blue eyes of unnatural frost.

– The Devil –

"Well…what have we here?" Vergil asked softly, gaze sweeping the crowd.

– The Author –

I shouldn't be doing this. I have two other stories on-going, no less than three more planned and charted, countless mecha, vehicle, and weapon designs to refine…..

But I just couldn't help myself.

I read The Hill of Swords (Familiar of Zero/Fate Stay Night)

I read Herald of the Void (Familiar of Zero/Warhammer 40k (Necron)) and am reading Void Tyrant (Warhammer 40k (Tyranid))

I'm reading Unfamiliar (Familiar of Zero/Prototype, on SpaceBattles)

I'm reading Zero's Shock (Familiar of Zero/Bioshock)

And when I checked, there was one FoZ/DMC crossover story, and it was in Spanish.

I really, really, really, couldn't help myself.

Anyway, I bet all of you guessed instantly who the summonee was halfway through the first third of the prologue. I'm not sure how accurately I captured him, but I hope I did well.

Why Vergil? I honestly thought about using Dante or Nero. I dismissed Nero because of the Devil Bringer. There's _obviously_ something not right about that, you'd have to be an idiot to not notice the GLOWING BLUE arm. I was this close to using Dante, and I could honestly see him cracking wise about damn near everything he came across in Halkeginia. And it would honestly be so satisfying to write him conquering everything, bar nothing, with his infinite armory of Devil Arms and infinite-ammunition guns.

But Vergil….Vergil drew me. He's the polar opposite of Dante: calm, cool, serious and utterly amoral versus Dante's flippant, laid-back demeanor and ethical code. He chose his Devilish heritage over his humanity. He sought power, and let nothing bar his way. He made me weep with frustration every time I fought him, first as Nelo Angelo in DMC1 and then in his original form in DMC3.

And in this, he's been summoned into a world where mortal humans use magic to rule over their lessers, each and every noble arrogant and proud, and most of them only capable of such tricks as fireballs, animated statues, icicles and gusts of wind. Against a Half-Devil who's slaughtered the Denizens of Hell en masse with nothing more than a single blade, many of which could teleport, become invisible, swath buildings in flame or freeze a city block in ice, and all of which could survive hails of demonically-generated .45-caliber rounds that would have killed a man with a few shots, and is himself super-resistant to damage of all stripes, with a healing factor that even fixes his _clothing_.

…._**Mw**_ahahaahahahahahah_****_ahahaahahahahahah_****_ahahaahahahahahah_****_ahahaahahahahahah_****_ahahaahahahahahah_**!**_

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	3. The Contract

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Contract

– The Zero –

**Tristain Academy of Magic, Tristain  
>Noon<strong>

Louise was dazzled. And so were the rest of her classmates.

The man, the one she had summoned, was handsome, there was no denying that. He bled raw sex appeal almost like that cursed von Zerbst, just standing there and gazing at her and her fellows. His stance, unconsciously disciplined and straight-backed, and his stoic expression gave him a regal bearing. And with all that, there was a barely noticeable undercurrent of threat. Distantly, Louise heard some of the weaker girls faint, and she could hear a sort of purring coming from the general direction of von Zerbst.

"Ahem. Ms. Vallière."

Louise started, Professor Colbert coughing behind her. "Ms. Vallière, the contract?"

Colbert's reminder seemed to free the class from some kind of spell, as they relaxed and started commenting.

"H-hey, Guiche….Louise….."

"Yeah…she summoned a human….."

"Look at that outfit! Do you think he's a noble?"

Louise ignored them, walking up to the man she had apparently summoned. As she approached, his gaze focused on her, with intensity that made her shrivel up inside, and made her halt, unsure.

"E-excuse me, but…who are you?"

The man didn't answer, instead continuing to stare at her. His only reaction was a very, very slight furrowing of his brow.

"D-do you understand me?"

"Hoy, Louise summoned an idiot!"

"Ha! You never fail to meet our expectations, Louise the Zero!"

"Shut Up!" Louse shouted at them, fuming at their taunts, before turning to Professor Colbert. "Mr. Colbert, can I try the ritual again?"

"Absolutely not." The bald teacher replied with a shake of his head.

"Why not!"

"This is a sacred rite, one that determines the course of a mages life from here on out. To try again is a desecration! Despite your like or dislike, he is your chosen familiar. Now, complete the contract."

– The Devil –

Vergil observed the proceedings with interest. Having performed several summoning rituals in the course of his quest for power, he was keenly aware of the proceedings, albeit he had never been on this side of the spell. Things seemed….wrong, for an infernal rite. For one, there were no obvious circles, glyphs, or runes of protection to cage in the summoned demon or devil, and there were far too many witches and warlocks for a typical coven, who typically kept their numbers low to avoid detection by both secular and religious organizations, not to mention their rival covens.

And then there were the animals. Cats, dogs, frogs, and other such small animals typical of the creatures used as blood sacrifices to lure in a demon or two were present, what threw this off were the strange red reptile with a flaming tail, the bizarre floating eyeball and the dragon. Those drew Vergil's attention, for some lesser demons took such forms. However, there was no hint of infernal presence, no hellish scent in the air.

Jeers from the crowd drew his attention back to the humans. The language here was strange to his ears, the closest comparison he could find was a French dialect spoken with a thick German accent. The words were off though, and he simply couldn't make sense of the grammar.  
>The crowd seemed to be directing its attention at the pink-haired girl now walking towards him, growing redder and more obviously furious with every word from the mob. When the girl, no more than fourteen given her appearance, stood in front of him, she rose to her toes, reaching her hand around his neck, causing Vergil to tense and his left hand to reflexively tense and clench in absence of Yamato's sheath. When she tried to pull him down, he resisted, until she growled at him, more of the incomprehensible words spilling out tinged with anger. Vergil briefly contemplating killing her and slaughtering the humans before setting off to pick up where he had left off. It would be easy to snap this child's neck, and he doubted the rest of them would have any challenging hand-to-hand skills to hold him off. The more exotic creatures were a minor concern, but even should they prove more formidable than expected, he could always call upon his Summoned Swords.<p>

The girl tugged on him again, shouting now.

_To Hell with it_. Vergil tensed, started to bring his hand up the girl's neck….

_"Hey, Verge."_ The image of Dante flashed in Vergil's mind, as he last saw his snarky twin before his final demise, with Force Edge in hand, half of their mother's amulet around his neck. A second passed before Vergil dropped his hands again, the girl having no notice of them as he finally acquiesced to her demand, bending down towards her. She began to chant, obviously the spell to complete whatever rite this fiasco was.

She kissed him.

The kiss was light, short, and chaste before she pulled back. For a second Vergil just stood there, slightly bemused.

Then the pain started. His body heated up, the closest sensation Vergil could come up with was being attacked by Dante with the Devil Arms of Agni and Rudra, but much more mild than that heated attack. The burning intensified itself into 'moderate annoyance' on the back of his left hand. Lifting it to his sight, the Son of Sparda saw runes of some sort glowing on it through the opening in the back of his glove. His flesh sizzled and popped, much like a steak on a grill. Then a pair of hands reached out and grasped his, strong and with a firm grip, pulling it to the inspection of the elder, bald man apparently overseeing the ritual. Normally, such behavior would have gotten the man sliced in half by Yamato and his life's blood spilling out onto the grass, but considering the absence of Vergil's inheritance, and the fact that it seemed to be little more than scholarly interest judging by the man's demeanor stayed the half-devil's hand.

Now though, the question of the animals was answered. Apparently, judging by the similar runic script Vergil could see on various parts of their bodies, the animals themselves were the purpose of the summoning ritual. And it seemed Vergil was an anomaly here, which explained the interest the man had in him. Said man said something to him, still utter gibberish. Vergil tilted his head slightly and locked his gaze onto the man, who frowned before incanting and waving the stave in his hand. A surge of energy made Vergil's spine tingle, and suddenly he could understand the gibbering of the mob around him, which he immediately tuned out again.

"A translation spell I presume."

"Ah, indeed. There was supposed to be a similar spell incorporated into the ritual you see, so that the familiars could understand and obey their masters, but it seems that failed to activate in this case….hmmm I asked earlier, but could you remove your glove, please? These runes are unusual…." The man asked, barely looking up from his inspection of Vergil's hand. The request was polite and respectful, so Vergil removed his hand from the man's grasp and unbuckled his glove, slipping the article off and returning it to study. "Hmm, yes, very strange…." Pulling what looked like vellum and a quill from somewhere within his robes, the man copied the runes and stowed away the roll before straightening. "May I ask your name?"

"Vergil, Son of Sparda." Vergil replied coolly, broadening his attention as he replaced his glove. Depending on the reaction, this could very well tell him the knowledge and capability of this unusual cabal.

"Pfah! With a name like that, he must be a commoner, from the sounds of it, some Romalian and a street performer judging by his dress!" Chortled some foppish blond boy with his shirt open to present his chest as a very tempting target for a Summoned Sword.

– The Zero –

No small amount of pleasure arose in Louise to see how quickly Guiche shut up when her 'commoner' familiar turned his glare onto the flirt, freezing him and his giant mole in place. Louise had some doubt as to whether this man she summoned was a commoner or not. By the feel of his coat collar, it was real, quality dyed leather, and she had felt the silk of his clothes when she'd kissed him, all of which were quite expensive, ruinously so for a minor noble family, and most definitely beyond the reach of mere commoners.

Of course, this cast shadows over her situation….what could the repercussions be for summoning and contracting a noble as a familiar? What in Brimir's name could that mean?

Worrying over this caused her to miss Professor Colbert introducing himself, only to be brought back to the present by Vergil's voice.

"Just what was the purpose of this summoning?" His voice was cool, like a snowmelt river.

"Why, to summon familiars of course." Colbert replied.

"Familiars?"

"Ah…magical servants, essentially. Beasts, bound by contract to serve their masters as errand runners, messengers, and in some cases, defenders and spies." Vergil's expression shifted slightly, in a way that Louise thought gave him a contemplative air. "Don't they have summoning rituals where you're from, ah….Mister Vergil?"

"Just Vergil will do fine, Professor. And yes, they do, but the aims of such rituals tend towards much more….deadly creatures, and with a much shorter contract time in most cases." _More deadly? What could be more deadly than a dragon!_ "I assume this young lady is my contractor then?"

"Yes, Louise Vallière. Her situation is….special." Louise bristled at that, something she was sure Vergil picked up on, what with his studious gaze.

"I guessed as much, seeing as how I'm the only human familiar here." Vergil commented, with no arch or dry tone, no dead-pan whatsoever in his voice.

"Yeah! A Zero-Use Familiar for Louise the Zero!" Both Vergil and Louise fixed the boy, a chubby student named Malicorne, with deathly glares. His cat familiar, caught between its master and the two, shrieked and leaped out of his arms to run and hide, leaving its master to wilt under the full force of the duo's gaze. By the time Louise was sure Malicorne was suitably chastened and turned back to her familiar, Vergil was studying her again. His made her shudder, and a thrilling chill crept down her spine.

– The Devil –

**Louise's Room, Student Dormitory  
>Evening<strong>

Vergil followed his so-called 'master' through what he learned was the halls of an academy for magic in the country of Tristain, on the world of Halkeginia. That would have had Vergil dismiss this cabal as another crazed warlock cabal that drew way too much from those ridiculous 'Harry Potter' books where it not for him witnessing the rise of two moons in the evening sky. That had proven to be an illuminating discovery, as it had changed the situation quite a bit. He could feel the compulsion of the contract pressing on his soul, but comparing it to Mundus' domination was like comparing a goldfish to a shark. With such a non-existent control, he could easily kill his 'Master', leave this place and these 'mages' and do what he wished in this new world.

And yet, he hesitated to perform this course of action. He couldn't say why, although he suspected the knowledge of his kindly twin's success and power, or the long time in the void were to blame for his sudden indecision. After all, decades of slaughtering humans in pursuit of his goals had led him to an untimely end, while Dante's choice in defending the weak masses from their half-kin resulted in him gaining power and acclaim in the supernatural circles.

_I suppose I could give Dante's path a try. But any human that threatens me will suffer a quick death._

Now he just had to explain to Louise the details of their 'relationship'.

Thus, as soon as the door to her room clanged shut, he spoke.

"Let me make this clear:" The girl spun about, blood draining from her face at the steel in his tone. "I am no weak-willed animal to be cowed by your magical contract. I am not a slave, to do menial chores or base errands." Vergil advanced on Louise, driving her past her bed until she bumped into her dresser. "However, I am indebted to you for removing me from my previous predicament." He almost smirked at the hopeful expression on the mage's face. "Therefore, I give my word of honor to protect you from those that would harm you, and to slay your enemies, whoever and wherever they are, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, until the expiration of this contract. And yes, I am aware it lasts until one of us dies." He added as she opened her mouth.

"That….is acceptable….Sir Vergil…" Louise not-quite gasped. Vergil did smirk then. _Sir, is it?_

"I am glad to see we are in agreement, Lady Vallière. Now, I understand this is a school. Is there a free day anytime soon?"

"Y-y-yes, the Day of the Void. The last day of the week, the day after tomorrow."

"Is there a town nearby, with a weapons shop?" Louise nodded, Vergil having drawn closer until she was pressed flat against the dresser to avoid touching and possibly angering him.

"Very well then. If it is agreeable with you, I would like us to go to this town and acquire a suitable weapon for my use."

"T-t-t-that's fine." Vergil nodded, satisfied, and backed off. Looking around for a place to sleep, he noticed the pile of hay in the corner. Equal amounts of disgust and amusement bubbled within, before he decided to forgo rest and instead headed out the door.

"If it is quite alright with you, I shall go and memorize the layout of this academy." Vergil didn't bother waiting for Louise' acknowledgement before slipping out into the hallway.

– The Zero –

Vergil gone, Louise slid down her dresser until she sat on the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees.

She was a failure. Instead of a loyal, powerful dragon, griffon or manticore, she had summoned a maybe-noble, maybe-commoner white-haired man who had dictated the terms of their relationship to her without so much as a squeak of dissent. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she did not cry. Part of it due to the noble pride in her that refused to let her weep, part of it due to the stark similarity between her mother's past discussions with her and Vergil's uncompromising statements.

– The Author –

Alright, that's the summoning and contract finished. And hey, what do you know, two updates in one day!

Don't get used to it.

Review Replies:

Takeshi Yamato: Congratulations first reviewer!  
>I certainly hope I don't disappoint.<p>

gfs: Thanks.

Nivek Beldo: Nice to hear from you again man, where you been?  
>Good thing you didn't bet then, eh?<br>Cool.

Pyromania101: I like your name. Stay away from my house.  
>He's certainly got the heart throb going for him (The Kirche encounter should be interesting to write) However, I think Rebellion is more Dante's thing (it's his sword). Vergil just sweeps in with charisma and enough force of personality to make ancient redwoods bend over to accommodate him. At least, that's my interpretation.<p>

Red Close: Neither can I.


	4. The Duel

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Duel

– The Devil –

**Tristain Academy of Magic  
>Night<strong>

The darkened castle halls held few, most of the students retired to their quarters and the servants few and far between performing their duties. Vergil's footsteps, despite the boots that any other would clonk about in, were as quiet as any feline's trod. This wasn't out of any need for stealth, just part of Vergil's constant philosophy of readiness for battle, and efficiency in action, him strolling down the hallway in plain sight. Were one of the staff or servants to see him, they would see a man confident and proud in bearing in demeanor, stepping confidently through the pools of light that separated the murky darkness with the moons' light allowed by the windows.

Vergil had already completed his survey of this tower, and now retraced the path he and Louise had taken to return to the courtyard. And his mind drifted as he did, thinking on matters without the slightest drop in vigilance.

This Mortal Realm he found himself in was not Earth. Granted, the moons and all else here could be a cunning sorcerous illusion, but the power required would mean a powerful cabal of warlocks or a Devil had interest in him, and Vergil had long since trained himself to detect such enchantments. The most telling example was these 'mages'. Humans did not have magic. They certainly had ingenuity to match the most cunning Demon, and willpower to forge ahead despite the obstacles.

But they did not have any innate magic.

Even their own legends told them this. So humans took power from Demons and Devils they contracted with, to learn sorcery. These mortals, however…proof of their power was apparent in the weak press of the contract on his soul. And there was no Infernal Energy in it. Or even in the world itself. Millennia of Infernal interference and scheming in the Mortal Realm had left the stench of their souls in the air, a merest hint of miasma even in places the Damned did not frequent.

This air…it was pure. And, quite refreshing, Vergil admitted.

Which meant…a world with no Demons, no Devils but Vergil.

A daunting thought to he who had embraced his Devil heritage in the pursuit of power.

Still, he had to confirm this, and learn more about this strange world besides. He would have to interrogate someone.

Searching the tower, Vergil found the blond boy from yesterday, fooling about with some brunette girl. He would have questioned them, but Vergil doubted his interference would be appreciated. So he simply passed them, unnoticed.

Vergil was about to turn off his path to head back to Louise and question her when he turned the corner and found a maid, blissfully unaware of him and dusting what he assumed was a statue of some past teacher or principal.

Sparda's eldest strode up to her. "Excuse me…"

– The Maid –

Siesta froze at the voice. It was…a courteous, regal, and delightfully masculine tenor. The kind of voice she imagined the male protagonists of her novels would have.

She turned. And her breath escaped between her parted lips at the sight before her.

Before her was a man with features that could have been mistaken for those of a statue…if a statue glowed faintly, a halo of silvery light surrounding him. Then it turned ever so slightly red, startling Siesta until she realized the glow was due to the man being bathed in the moons' light from the window behind him.

"Ah…yes, My Lord?" Siesta asked cautiously, curtsying as she would for any noble. She wasn't sure who this man was, but he seemed to have a noble background judging from his bearing, and it was always better safe than sorry.

"Please, no need to be rigid." The voice didn't seem chastising, but Siesta could feel her cheeks warming in a blush. It was just like one of her novels! "I am…new, here, and I hope you wouldn't mind answering a few questions."

"Not at all!" Siesta squeaked.

"…Very well. To start, could you tell me about…"

Siesta held no knowledge of how much time passed while this stranger, Vergil questioned her. The topics were extensive, from the line of royalty in Tristain to the events in Albion.

Then they came to the nobility.

"So, they define nobility by the ability to do magic, hmm?" Vergil seemed amused by this for some reason, his expression quirking into an amused smirk that made Siesta swoon, shaking at the knees. "Thank you for your time Siesta." He bowed slightly, and swept off down the hall.

As soon as he rounded the corner, Siesta collapsed to her knees, hands on her face.

"Kyaaaaaa!"

– The Zero –

_Louise found herself in a strange place. Above, the sky had no moons, no stars, not even clouds. Merely pure, consuming, pitch black. Around her, red liquid covered the floor, a flood of red out from which marble columns and statues rose. The air smelled metallic, and a decaying reek filled her nose. Then the liquid churned, vaguely humanoid shapes shifting underneath._

_And then bursting above. They were horrid and disgusting creatures, caricatures of people at their worst, wielding staffs with flaming blades extending from their shaft. Horror swelled within Louise at the sight, and for some reason, a passionless contempt._

"_The flinch in your eye, calls your bluff!"_

What the! Who's there!

_Louise' cry went unanswered as the monsters attacked her, scythes swinging to take her head. But before they connected, Louise found herself transported, somehow, behind one of the beings as they swung at empty space._

"_Feel free to die when you've had enough!"_

_A flash of silver, and then the monster fell in two, blood splattering onto one of the marble columns._

_And Louise realized the liquid all around was blood, as well as the beasts themselves._

_The creatures' companions reacted to their comrade's swift demise, when Louise held one of her arms before her. A strange silvery gauntlet covered it, white lines decorating it as she beckoned the creatures to attack. They complied, charging forward again._

"_Useless cause, is breaking your back!"_

_This time, Louise caught sight of a strange blade as she drew it, a hilt wrapped in white leather, with an oval guard, and a curving bright blade that sliced easily through the beasts._

_And then she found herself transported again, this time into the air as she sheathed the blade, and then drew it again in a flash._

"_Your life will end, when you attack!"_

_Orbs of darkness covered the clump of monsters, all of them missing limbs from her slash, and then, they fell apart as though sliced by blades. It was as though they were attacked by wind magic…but there was something…unwholesome…about it…._

"Louise."

"GAH!" Louise gasped, darting up from her bed.

And saw a man in her room.

"Pervert!" She shrieked, slapping his face – only for him to catch her hand.

"…I would much prefer not being attacked when you awake Louise."

_What is he…oh._

"T-the Familiar Summoning Ritual…"

"Yes, that's right. You summoned me, remember?" Vergil said, releasing her hand. "Now. It is dawn, and I assumed you would wish to awake to prepare for class and breakfast. I shall wait outside while you dress." And without anything else, Vergil turned and strode out of the room, closing the door without a sound.

Flushed at Vergil's demeanor, Louise dressed quickly, angrily.

_How dare he treat me like this! I am the daughter of Karin the Heavy Wind! I will not allow some un-landed noble or-or-or commoner to treat me like this!_

Furiously, Louise stormed out into the hallway, ready to deliver an indignant rant-

That died in her throat the moment she met Vergil's eyes, freezing her in place. Wordlessly, she strode past him, heading for the dining hall.

**Alviss Dining Hall**

Louise kept an eye on Vergil as they entered the hall. The Alviss Dining Hall was one of the greatest constructs of Earth magic in the school, built as befitted the noble students and teachers that used it.

Of course, everyone else was watching him as well, keeping an eye on 'The Zero's Familiar'. Rumors had spread throughout the school in the aftermath of the Ritual, and Louise wouldn't be surprised if everyone had heard of Vergil.

He merely glanced about, taking in the grand vaulted ceiling and immaculate sculptures that lined the walls and then simply ignored it as he followed Louise. The mage-student was surprised to see Vergil move ahead of her and pull out her seat without being prompted.

_Well-mannered_.

Of course, then he sat down in the seat next to her. Murmurs and gasps were quick to sound from the other students. Louise herself was torn about what to do. These seats were supposed to be reserved for the noble students, and certainly not for familiars…but her familiar was Vergil, as refined a man as any noble she'd known….and quite a bit more so than many of her so-called peers. But before Louise could decide, the Morning Prayer began.

"_Our Great Founder Brimir and Her Highness, we thank you for this small meal-" _Louise halted when Vergil completely ignored them, instead proceeding to eat. When he saw her expression, he actually smirked!

"Louise." He began as the prayer ended. "I was wondering if you would answer some questions."

"Yeah? Like what?" Louise grumbled. The confusion her familiar created was starting to annoy her.

"Who is this Brimir?" Everyone in earshot turned and gaped at Vergil.

"W-wwwwwwho's Brimir! _How could you not know who Brimir is!"_ Louse shrieked, and was about to rant when Vergil held a finger to her face.

"Let us assume, Louise," He began, "That I am from somewhere very, very far away, and came here by, oh, a _Summoning Ritual, _and have no idea as to the traditions and other such matters that exist in your culture." The sarcasm in his voice cut Louise to the bone.

"Brimir was the Founder, he who aided humanity after our race was exiled from the Holy Land." Louise began, grumbling. "He used the Lost Element of Void, and established the current system of magic. It is said that the royal families of Tristain, Albion and Gallia are descended from him. Does that answer your question?"

"Adequately." Vergil replied. "Now about magic…."

– The Devil –

**Courtyard**

"…I see. So your ranking is how many elements you can combine, for example a line-class mage could either use, say, two iterations of Fire to create a more powerful fireball, or combine Wind and Water to create ice."

"Exactly." Louise said. The two of them were exiting the dining hall, breakfast concluded.

"Interesting." Vergil was learning quite a bit about this new world. The information from the maid gave him some basic knowledge about the culture here, particularly the relationship between these 'nobles' and 'commoners'. Louise was explaining the workings of magic and parts of history. Looking around now, Vergil saw students and their familiars, sitting at tables or on the grass. "What's going on here?"

"Hmm? Oh, second-year students have no classes today, in order to bond with their familiars." Louise replied.

"Sensible." Vergil commented. It was always good to know the capabilities of your allies, and whether or not you would need to get rid of them later.

"Oh, Hello!" The greeting came from behind, from a red-headed, tan woman with a figure that could have been mistaken for that of a succubus's. She was kneeling, stroking the same reptile with the flaming tail from yesterday.

"Greetings." He replied, studying the lizard now that he found himself closer.

"Haven't you seen a salamander before?" The woman asked, stroking her familiar again and causing it to wriggle its tail in a way similar to a dog, if a dog had a snake for a tail.

"Not quite, although I've seen creatures much like this one…and they were much more vicious."

"Oh? And where did you see them? Near your village?" The woman asked with a sly look on her face.

"Kirche! What are you implying!" Louise shrieked, rounding on the buxom student.

"Oh come on Louise, it's so obvious! You took some plebian off the streets and dressed him up, hiring him to parade around as your familiar!" Kirche replied triumphantly, rising.

"I did not! I performed the ritual, and he appeared!"

_This is a lot like when Dante and I were children._ Vergil reflected.

"Well, at any rate, he's much too fine for someone like Louise the Zero!" Kirche waved Louise off, drawing closer to Vergil. "Hey, handsome, why don't you come with me? Louise must be so tiresome…"

"Thank you for the offer, Miss…?"

"Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst."

"Miss Zerbst. However, I am engaged in a contract with Miss Vallière here, and I cannot abandon her."

"My, so serious and honorable…."

"Go away Kirche! He said no!" Louse shouted, her face now turning a very bright red.

_Oh yes, just like Dante._

"Excuse me." Vergil turned, seeing a familiar brunette girl, in a brown cloak compared to the rest of the students' black ones.

_Hmm…different colors for different years?_

"Ah, excuse me sir, have you seen Guiche? He's a blond boy, about this tall?"

"Would this be the boy you were with last night?"

"Y-y-yes…H-h-h-how did you-"

"He's over there." Vergil nodded towards a table where the boy, Guiche, was sitting with his mole and what looked like another second-year, a blond girl.

"Ah, thank you…" The girl hurried off, apparently not noticing that Guiche was already occupied.

Vergil followed. Despite himself, he was curious as to this Guiche's explanation for his two-timing. Neither Louise nor Kirche noticed his departure, so embroiled in their fight were they. His pace was slower than the girl's, so by the time he arrived at the table there was already a small fight going on, with a ring of spectators forming around.

"You told me you were bonding with Verdande last night!" The blond girl screeched.

"How mean! You told me I was the only one for you!" Katie cried.

"A-aah why don't the two of you calm-"

"You liar!" Both of the girls cried, Katie running off, whereas the blond slapped Guiche hard enough to leave a sizable handprint on his cheek.

"Pathetic." Vergil muttered, just loud enough for Guiche to hear.

"What was that! You – Wait, you're Louise's familiar! Don't they teach you how to treat nobles where you're from, commoner?"

"I treat people how I see them, fool. And I see that you are a double-dating, pathetic worm that will probably meet an untimely end when you meet with the wrong woman." Vergil replied caustically. Still, he was somewhat impressed. Most of the time when he glared at a human, they quickly evacuated the area and made very sure never to come across him.

"That's it! I challenge you to a duel!" Guiche cried, drawing, of all things, a rose and thrusting it towards Vergil in a very flamboyant manner.

"Duel?" Vergil asked. _Perfect_.

"You have gravely insulted me! You show no manners towards your betters, and going by your behavior in the dining hall, you are a heathen!" The last drew a gasp from the crowd, them backing away from Vergil like he had a plague.

…_.Not the worst thing I've been called._ "Very well. When and where?"

"Meet me at Vestry Field, commoner, in fifteen minutes. I'll allow you that long to prepare yourself." Guiche declared, before marching off, with his mole familiar crawling along after him. The crowd chattered as they followed Guiche, Vergil would have done so as well, except that a tug on his coat brought him to a halt, and he turned to see Louise grabbing at his sleeve.

"What do you think you're doing?" She shouted, tugging on his sleeve again. "Come with me, we have to apologize to Guiche at once!"

"…I believe you are underestimating me, Miss Vallière."

"You don't understand! Guiche has magic! And you obviously do not, what with all your questions earlier! Commoners can't win against nobles!"

"And when, Louise, did I ever say I was a 'commoner'?" Vergil asked. Then he pulled his sleeve free and strode after the crowd.

– The Maid –

**Vestry Field  
>Noon<strong>

Siesta wondered at the commotion. She'd gone to the kitchen to fetch a cake and some tea for a student, and when she got back, everyone was heading to Vestry Field. From what the students who'd brought her along were saying, a student had challenged the familiar of another's to a duel! Something Siesta was still wondering about, when the man from last night walked calmly into the circle the crowd had formed!

"I compliment you on not fleeing, commoner." The student said archly, taking a stance with arms folded, one hand hanging out with a rose.

"I never deny a request to duel, boy." The white-haired man replied.

"Wait!" Another student, a pink-haired girl, ran up to the boy. "Guiche, you can't do this! Duels are prohibited!"

"Only duels between nobles." Guiche replied. "And this familiar of yours Louise, is no noble."

"Get out of the circle Louise." The man ordered. "This duel is starting."

"Vergil!"

"As you say, commoner!" Guiche chuckled, swinging the rose in his hand, sending a petal to fall. A white light appeared when the petal touched the ground, and from it arose what looked like armor, made of bronze and fitted for a woman, with over-sized pauldrons and a skirt, wielding a spear. "My name is Guiche De Gramont, The Bronze, and this Bronze Valkyrie shall be your opponent!"

The man, Vergil from what the girl Louise called him, was unshaken by the golem's appearance. He brought a hand up over his right shoulder, as though to draw a sword from a sheath on his back. And then he brought the hand out in a quick movement, suddenly holding a large sword! It was about the size of a bastard sword, with a straight blade, guards like half-folded angel wings, and a skull pommel with a spike sticking straight out. And, it was a spectral light blue, dimly glowing and transparent.

"Whoa! Where did that come from!"

"Is it ice? If it is-"

"No, it doesn't feel like it, and wind mages can't make swords!"

Guiche was taken aback by the sword's appearance, but rallied himself and pompously swept his rose at Vergil.

"Valkyrie, Attack!" The golem darted forth quickly, leading with a punch from its gauntlet. Vergil simply stepped back and to the side to avoid, before attacking, slicing his sword up and severing the golem's arm at the shoulder in a single quick attack. Before Guiche could order the golem again, Vergil brought his sword down upon the golem in a blow that split its helm in half, along with the rest of its body. The empty armor fell, scattering to the ground like rubbish scraps. Guiche, as well as the crowd, was stunned, and it took the blond a second to realize that Vergil was steadily striding towards him, sword in hand.

Two swipes of the rose, and six petals fell, summoning six of the Bronze Valkyries. They charged the advancing Vergil, four of them darting to the sides to flank and surround them. And now Guiche was serious, the Valkyries leading with their spears. Vergil didn't stop, and waved his free hand. Out of nowhere, exact duplicates of the blade in his hand appeared, spiraling about his form in two circles rotating in opposite directions, intercepting the spears and shattering them. The sudden force sent the Valkyries tumbling, and then Vergil waved again, the spiraling swords disappearing and then reappearing, with even more now, six swords hanging above each Valkyrie. Vergil made a quick, cutting gesture, and the swords darted down, pinning the golems to the ground.

Guiche, trembling, fell to his knees before Vergil.

"I-I-I-I give up."

The crowd was dead silent.

"There's no way you're a commoner. Just what are you?" Vergil seemed to consider that question, before tossing his sword up into the air, and snapping his fingers.

All of the blades exploded in flashes of light, shattering the golems and flaring in the sky, as Vergil simply strode away.

"A Son of Sparda."

– The Author –

Well, that's done. I think I may have made Vergil a bit OOC in places, but other than that I think I'm satisfied with how this turned out. And remember kiddies, contracting with Devils has consequences.

Now, let us count the ways that Vergil pwned Guiche's ass:

Summoned Swords

High Time

Helm Splitter

Spiral Swords

Sword Storm

And hell, he wasn't even going all out.

By the way, does anyone know just what kind of sword Derflinger is?

Review Replies:

1Batman4U: The whole school seems like a toned-down version of Hogwarts, literally. Anyone could see it.  
>Maybe.<p>

Kojiro Kun: Nice to see you like it.  
>Honestly, can you see Vergil taking crap from anyone?<br>I can only hope this fic does a quarter as well as The Hill of Swords, and I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Pyromania101: Well, I think the 101 is usually attached to classes that are introductory courses to the subject taugh.  
>Well, not so much funny as a simple cakewalk for Vergil.<br>The way I plan it, Vergil is going to have a decent arsenal.  
>I'm glad you think it is.<p>

Infernus87: Thank you.

Takeshi Yamato: No problem.

Nivek Beldo: More tsundere? Wouldn't she be less if she's not a bitch?  
>Hmm….<br>Thanks!  
>I would, but I can't read Spanish.<p>

Sart Von Berchigen: Thank you, and I will.

Orchamus: I hope it turns out to be so.

EVA-Saiyajin: Thanks.  
>Yes he is.<br>Well, she's seen some of him now.

HellNyte: Probably for the better.

Lord Sia: I can only hope it still is.

InfiniteFreedom: Nice to read you again!  
>That will be an interesting meeting…..<br>Eh, he's Guiche.  
>It wouldn't be, but I don't think it's going to happen.<p>

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	5. The Blade

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Blade

– The Zero –

_"Make your move, make your stand,"_

_Louise shuddered as she was cast back into the dream, back into that body with the silver gauntlets and the strange, curved sword. This time she was in a large circular room, the center of it dominated by an enormous hourglass, painted walls whirling in the background. More of the blood creatures from the first dream inhabited this place, joined by tormented beings carrying some enormous, cratered orb upon their backs._

_Louise felt her hand go to the hilt of that strange sword, drawing and sheathing it dozens of times in an instant as spheres of _wrongness_ erupted in the ranks of the creatures, their forms rupturing. Several of the orbs burst, exploding in displays that matched that of her failed spells, splattering the blood that made up the scythe-wielders forms all over the stone floor._

_"Make the win, ha, like you can,"_

_Suddenly, Louise found herself in mid-air, above the carnage the explosions left. In the corner of her eye, she could see bizarre stony figures, with one eye and six arms, each wielding three bows with three glowing blue arrows set. Her hand waved dismissively, and as she turned to fall upon the bloody survivors, she could see bright light blue forms congealing in the air and launching at the six-armed archers._

_"See the war, see me rule,"_

_The curved blade was out before she landed, slicing into one staggering blood-being, before slicing up to send another, now armless, into the air. Another shift and she was with it, the sword cutting deep into its flesh as they landed. Suddenly, an ethereal white form rose out from the floor, unsullied by the blood and viscera that carpeted the ground. It had one arm to the side, wielding a lance of light, and was wrapped in the purest white feathers. _Surely, _she thought, _this is an Angel.

_"See the mirror; you'll see a fool,"_

_Louise wanted to stop as her arm drew the blade from its sheath, her feet propelling her in a insanely fast dash with the sword slicing all around her, through blood-creatures rising new from the floor, and shattering the Angel's sheltering wing….revealing a horrendous face that was its torso. The shock and horror she felt continued, even after its shrieks died with the slash of a blade, cutting the face apart along the jaw._

**Louise's Room, Student Dormitory  
>Night<strong>

Panting, sweaty, Louise awoke in her room, the moons' light shining through her window. She wildly cast about, searching for Vergil.

He wasn't there.

Shivering, she drew her knees to her chest and sat, arms wrapped around her legs, trying to forget the images of her nightmare.

– The Devil –

**Academy Halls**

As he had done the night of his summoning, Vergil strode the halls. Now ranging outside of the tower where Louise slept, memorizing the layout. He had not slept at all the last night, and did nothing of the sort now, not in a place that he was not yet familiar with. Dante may spend half his time sleeping, but Vergil would not rest until he was secure in his knowledge of his surroundings. And besides, as a half-devil, Vergil didn't need quite as much sleep as ordinary humans. Or as much food for that matter, Dante pretty much indulged in pizza just for the taste, although why was beyond Vergil since the food didn't taste all too great to him.

_Strawberry Sundaes on the other hand…_

"Ah, Mister Vergil?" Vergil had already been aware of the approaching woman, long before she spoke, and was already facing here. If she found this unusual, she didn't show it.

"Yes, Miss?"

"Longueville. The headmaster would be pleased if he could meet with you, as soon as possible."

_Hmmm…_

"Would right now be a good time?" Vergil asked.

"It would."

"Very well. Lead on."

**Headmaster Osmond's office, Central Tower**

The Headmaster's office was in the shape of a pentagram, with a window at each corner, and bookshelves next to the windows that pointed to the other four towers of the academy. Various statuettes and knick-knacks decorated the place, from the desk, to the shelves and the tables scattered throughout the rest of the room. Before the fifth window was the Headmaster's desk, and the Headmaster himself. Who was asleep.

Under different circumstances, Vergil would be…_annoyed_, to put it lightly, but at the moment he was just in awe at how much this Osmondd conformed to the age-old 'old-wise-man, long-white-beard' image.

Miss Longueville, seemed just as annoyed as Vergil would be, walked up to his side and whacked him in the head.

"Hm! Hah! What!"

"Osmond, Mister Vergil is here to meet you."

"Vergil? Who? Oh! That boy who dueled the Gramont lad!"

Vergil was irritated at being called boy, but let it slide. Osmond was apparently quite ancient, after all, and for whatever reason Vergil hadn't aged physically since Mundus caught and corrupted him.

"Yes."

"Good, good….Is Professor Colbert here?"

"Not yet. He's probably asleep at the moment-" _Like every other normal person at this hour_, Vergil caught her tone. "-So it might be a while before-" Vergil turned towards the door seconds before the bald teacher that had overseen the ritual that summoned him burst into the room, panting.

"Ah! The Gandalfr!" Colbert gasped upon seeing Vergil. That elicited an arched brow from the half-devil. He honestly hoped Colbert was not calling him Gandalf.

"Jean, come in….oh, you already are. Well then, let's start this meeting." Osmond said. "First, introductions. I am Osmond, Headmaster of this academy. This is my secretary, Miss Longueville, and this is Professor Jean Colbert, teacher at this academy." Vergil nodded to each as they were named. "Now, I asked you and Jean here to answer some questions about some…peculiarities, involving you. Jean?"

"Ah, yes, yes." Colbert fumbled within his robes before pulling out a thick tome, something Vergil associated with sorcerous grimoires and demonology texts. Colbert opened the book and flipped rapidly through its pages, stopping on a certain page and dropping it with a very audible thud onto Osmond's desk. "Your runes, Vergil, they're the runes of the Legendary Familiar, Gandalfr!"

_Oh by Lucifer's rotting corpse._ "Gandalfr?" Vergil asked. "What does that mean?"

"The Gandalfr was the familiar of the Founder Brimir, and protected him while he cast his spells!"

_Hmm…_

"It was supposed to be able to use any and every weapon ever made, with complete mastery of any technique or power they used!"

"You see why this concerns us, Vergil." Osmond said.

"Yes…I do." Vergil said. "If I am this….this…Gandalfr that would make Louise a mage of the Void, yes?"

"By all logic, yes." From what Vergil understood, this would be to this culture what the Second Coming of Christ would be for Christianity.

"Can you imagine? The return of The Void, with the Left Hand of God as proof!" Colbert babbled excitedly.

"Excuse me? The Left Hand of God?" Vergil asked.

"Ah, yes, one of the other names for the Gandalfr."

"…" _Dante would absolutely _love_ this. Why isn't _he _here?_

"We ask that you not inform anyone about this however." Osmond said, leaning forward over his desk to peer at Vergil. "Not even Miss Vallière. I hope you understand this."

"I do." And Vergil did. If anyone in the government learned that Louise was a Void Mage, got the slightest hint as to the possibility, the politicians would be all over her like Lust Hells on a strip bar. And if politics were anything like those of the medieval times on Earth, she wouldn't be guaranteed to survive.

"With that understood, I hope you'll indulge us in answering a few questions…"

"Yes! What were those blades? The students tell us you used no incantation or foci to summon them!"

"I believe you are referring to my Summoned Swords." Vergil said, extending his hand forth and calling upon his Infernal Energy. It flowed out of him, congealing into a Summoned Sword. For an instant, Vergil felt a pang of emotion at the sight of even a shadow of his father's blade. The ethereal weapon drifted above his palm, point down, for the mages to see.

"Amazing!" Colbert gasped. "How did you do that?"

"The technique is simple." Vergil said in lieu of an explanation. "But I'm afraid no one here can learn it."

"And why is that?" Longueville asked, leaning forward to inspect the Sword.

"Because it is not magic, not as you know it. Even where I come from, only a miniscule amount of people are capable of using Sorcery." _Two the last time I counted._ "Most are quite simply not capable of using it."

"I see. And just where are you from, Vergil." Osmond asked, a note of seriousness coming into his voice. Vergil strode to the door, opening it and leaving with only one sentence.

"For a first hint, there's only one moon."

– The Staff –

The office was silent after Vergil left. Each of the three occupants contemplated on Vergil's parting words before Colbert spoke up.

"Only one moon...do you think he means that he's…?"

"I don't know Jean." Osmond replied. "But something tells me that Vergil may be linked to the Spear of Destruction…and the being that wielded it…"

– The Zero –

**Louise's Room, Student Apartments  
>Morning<strong>

Louise started when the door opened, Vergil striding in. He looked her over, before nodding and retreating back into the hall.

_Wonderful. And thus begins the day pandering to my familiar's wishes._ She was however slightly mollified by the fact that he was apparently a competent familiar.

And more magical than she was.

It was with a heavy heart that Louise exited her room, plodding down the hall towards the dining hall.

– The Ardent –

**Alviss Dining Hall**

Kirche paid special attention to the duo of Louise and Vergil during breakfast today, raptly watching every movement of the blue-coated warrior. His performance in the duel…so confident, so nonchalant, utterly unconcerned by the Valkyrie's rushing spears….She was in love.

She'd sent Flame to bring Vergil to her room, but her familiar had been unable to sniff out wherever the swordsman was hiding. So, Kirche would have to take a different tack in her seduction…

Went the pair rose from their places and exited the hall, Kirche waited a few minutes, and then slipped out to follow them.

Only to look as they rode out, Vergil holding the reins of a horse as Louise held on tightly behind.

"Oh-ho, so they're going out today…Well, a coincidental meeting outside will do."

**Tabitha's Room, Student Dormitory**

Kirche knocked on the door several times before she burst into the room, shouting. It took a few moments, but the blue-haired girl on the bed finally noticed her, looking up from a heavy book she was reading, to wave her staff and remove the silencing spell she'd cast.

"Tabitha! We're leaving, get ready!"

"Day of Void." The quiet girl replied, adjusting her glasses and tilting her head back down to read.

"I know how important the Day of the Void is to you, but you see, I fell in love!" Kirche proclaimed with one hand over her heart. "With that white-haired warrior, Vergil, from the duel yesterday, you remember?" She didn't even wait for Tabitha to reply before continuing. "But he and Louise went out today, so I need your help to track them and find out where they're going! You understand?"

Tabitha shook her head.

"Oh, that's right, you need an explanation…I need to chase after those two, but I can't keep up with them without your familiar! PLEASE HELP ME!" Kirche went to her knees by the bed, arms upraised before her friend. Tabitha closed the book, setting it down before nodding. Climbing off the bed, pulling on shoes, cloak, and picking up her staff, she opened the window and whistled. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then Kirche saw a speck in the sky, quickly growing and resolving into Tabitha's dragon familiar, Sylphid. The dragon slowed as she reached the tower, smoothly gliding into place next to the window, where Kirche and Tabitha mounted her.

"Your Sylphid is magnificent, no matter how many times I see her." Kirche complimented the pair as she settled into place. The dragon flapped, rising into the air before setting off for the country outside the academy.

"Direction"?

"Eh….I was in a hurry, so I didn't quite catch where they were going…." Tabitha sidled up to Sylphid's long neck, leaning as close as she could to the dragon's ears.

"Horse. Two riders, pink-hair and blue-coat. No eating."

– The Devil –

The town was the most rustic place Vergil had visited in all his life. The buildings were surprisingly modern-looking, with brick-and-mortar construction. The street they were now on, one of the premier shopping centers according to Louise, had stalls that took up more room on what Vergil felt was an already small street.

Louise led him to a specific store, one with a wooden sign in the shape of a sword hanging over its door. Entering found them in a small, somewhat dank shop with weapons of all kinds of spears, halberds, swords and whatnot hanging on the walls and even in barrels by the door. As he entered, Vergil felt…something….both familiar and strange…

"Ah hello customers! Oh, and nobles! Many greetings to you, fine lady and sir!" The proprieter, a small man with a large nose and needle-like moustaches that stuck out from his face like the whiskers of a rat, bowed deeply. He wore glasses, and what looked like some kind of cheap leather cap.

Once, long before Temen-ni-Gru, Vergil had dealt with a Greater Demon by the name of Vulgrim, a tusked, skeletal demon that served as a go-between and dealer for many of the factions of hell. This man felt even sleazier than him to Vergil's senses, and Vulgrim had haggled in human souls!

"We need a sword." Louise began, before looking at Vergil. Temporarily ignoring the strange feeling, the half-devil stepped forward.

"I require a blade, preferably an uchigatana, and little more than two shaku in length, with a modest curve." Vergil demanded simply. From the expressions of both the shop-keeper and Louise, he guessed Colbert's spell didn't quite cover Japanese. "Never mind." This country seemed to be this world's analogue of Medieval Europe, so he wasn't too surprised that its shop didn't have any daito. Vergil instead turned his attention back to his senses. He felt a presence….much like a Devil…but somehow not…Following it, he strode towards the barrel next to the door, it holding several ill-kept blades and polearms of various types. Vergil reached in, brushing aside several of the rusting weapons before his hand grasped a hilt. Drawing the blade up, Vergil found himself holding what appeared to be a falchion, about as long as Yamato had been, with a black back and a thin edge, with a crossbar that extend to about a fourth of the blade's length. The guard was modest, not like the ones of either Rebellion or Force Edge, only a little larger than Vergil's cherished blade. The grip was covered in a rough white cloth, providing a decent hold. All over the guard, blade and elsewhere was a layer of rust.

And as he held it, Vergil felt a twinge in his being.

"We'll take this." He proclaimed, to the askance view of both the shop's owner and Louise.

– The Zero –

"Why in the world would you want such an old and weak-looking sword?" Louise asked as they exited the store. "Actually, come to think of it, why do you need a sword at all when you can make those blades?"

"I normally used the Summoned Swords as throwaway ranged weapons." Vergil replied. "Keeping one to use as a personal blade taxes me."

"At least it was cheap." Louise grumbled.

"Which only shows that the fool did not know what he had in his keeping." Was the swordsman's comment. Louise simply huffed, and they continued towards the outskirts of town in silence. They had just reached the stables when suddenly, everything when black, the back of Vergil being the last sight Louise saw.

**Later**

It was the first time she'd gotten any sleep without some strange or disturbing nightmare, with a demonic taunting voice. And, also the first time she'd actually felt truly rested when woken. Yawning, Louise stretched – Or, tried to at any rate. Her arms were tied down by something, around a large and round object.

Louise's eyes snapped open, seeing a dusk-lit sky and the forest around the town. She was in a clearing, surrounded by dirty, rag-dressed men. And before her was a duo of plain-faced men, both with ragged and torn noble cloaks, their once-fine clothes dirty with dust and smudged with mud.

"Oh, doesn't she just sound the cutest?" One of the men, a red-head with a broken nose, said in a mocking tone.

"Hey! What is this! Release me this instant!" Louise ordered, a furious blush burning on her cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Replied the other, a dirty-blonde. "Just as soon as we get word to your parents and they pay up, Vallière."

"My parents won't stand for this!"

"I suppose they won't, but if they don't pay, then we'll just leave you here for the orcs." The red-head smirked, and chuckled. Louise yanked her arms, trying to free them. "Oh, that won't work. You see, Al here is quite good at bindings."

"You two! You're disowned, aren't you? Nobles that went and did something so foolish or shameful that your families didn't want to deal with you!"

"You bitch!" The red-haired on growled.

"Hold on Bran, she's just talking. And if we return her too roughed up, the Baron might not be so willing to pay."

"Hey Bosses! There's a dragon!" One of the men, probably some thieving commoner, ran up to them.

"Where?"

"Up there!" The man pointed towards the sky, an Louise could see the blue dragon that Tabitha had summoned. And then the commoner was pinned to the ground like a butterfly, by almost a dozen spectral blades.

"Vergil!" The blue-coated man fell from the sky, drawing his blade and swinging it straight down to slice another bandit in half. The rest were stunned for a moment, before they rushed him, clubs, daggers, knives, chains all coming out. Vergil didn't flinch as the first of the mob reached him, swinging an axe. Two slices shattered the axe and then beheaded the man, before he strode forward to meet the rest, the rusty blade swinging out again and again until it was drenched in the red sheen of blood.

"Damn you!" Bran cried, drawing his wand and incanting a spell and flourishing his wand at Vergil. A bolt of flame leaped forth, seeking to hungrily consume the swordsman. Louise watched helplessly as the flame drew close…only for Vergil to swing his new sword, batting the magic aside like it was another strike aimed at him. "What the-"

Al acted then, slashing his wand and incanting, sending a breeze of razor-sharp wind slicing at Vergil. As with Bran's spell, this was deflected, the wind breaking into a slight breeze. Now Vergil gestured, summoning the spiraling swords that he'd used in the duel with Guiche before pointing at Al. The ethereal weapons disappeared and reappeared behind Vergil, arrayed with their points aimed directly at the mage before firing faster than crossbow bolts. Only to shatter against a shielding gust Al summoned, the blades breaking into small pieces before dissolving.

And then Louise blinked – and Vergil was behind Al, stabbing him in the back until his sword was stuck halfway through the disowned noble's chest, his blood mingling with that of his men. Vergil wrenched the blade about and drew it back, letting Al's body fall to the ground.

"N-n-n-n-n-n-no please!" Bran cried, falling and crawling back as Vergil calmly advanced. "D-d-d-don't kill me! I'll do anything! Please!" He didn't get anything else out, as Vergil summoned a single sword that skewered his head to the earth. All was still, Vergil standing over the remains of his kills as Louise stared.

"Alright! Now _that_ was a wake-up call!" The shrill, aged voice startled Louise, who glanced about until she noticed Vergil holding the sword up before him, a part of the hilt clacking up and down like a mouth. "You're good! Hey, my name's Derflinger!"

"Vergil."

"Vergil eh? Well, Vergil, you're my partner eh? I can tell, we're gonna have some fun times together!"

– The Author –

And now Derflinger joins the group. And is also the Stylish Rank Announcer. With a personality like Dante's. Vergil's gonna love him….

I was playing through DMC3 again; trying to get the hang of Vergil's fighting style, when I realized that it wasn't going to work. Derf's scabbard is too big to hold onto like Yamato's sheath, and I don't claim to be an expert, but I don't think Vergil could use his Iaido style with a backsword/falchion/whatever Derf is. So, I'll probably be taking more of his moves from the Force Edge/Rebellion movesets.

Ah well.

Review Replies:

pyromania101: I don't know about romance, neither of the Sparda twins seem really concerned with that…Sure, Dante has Lady and Trish hanging around, but Trish looks like his mother and it doesn't seem like he's scored with Lady. Vergil's been too concerned with power, and I don't think he's too concerned about it here. Eh, it didn't seem like Vergil would attack a guy when he's surrendered a duel…honor and bushido you know. I honestly hope this fic is the one that finally nets me a TV Tropes page, but time will tell…

Nivek Beldo: Thanks.  
>True….<p>

Takeshi Yamato: That he did.  
>I'm glad.<br>I actually have a Gundam UC/Wing fic planned out, but since I am a little bogged down, I don't think it'll come out any time soon.

EVA-saiyajin: Hmm…true, true…  
>He was showing off to make a point. You see, I figure Vergil spent a lot of his time with demons and such, and most fiction seems to agree that demons and such respect strength, which Vergil would use to ensure they stay in line by slaughtering a few of them in the most gruesome and bloody way possible. He's applying that here to the golems, since he's trying on Dante's philosophy a bit, to ensure that the other student's don't get mess with him, or by extension, Louise.<p>

Orchamus: Thanks for the help.

Infinite Freedom: Thanks.

Kojiro Kun: Vergil's thoughts: _He's like Dante…but I'm hitting people with him…._(Imagines using Dante to hit people)

Castelvania Writer: Thank you.

And as a parting gift, an alternative conclusion to the duel:

Guiche was still in shock over the casual destruction of his Valkyries when Vergil's free hand darted out and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting the fop high into the air, his feet dangling a good six inches from the ground.

"W-w-wait! I give up! Please don't kill me!" The blonde cried, dropping his rose-wand and gripping Vergil's arm in desperation. The Earth mage-student went on like that for a few seconds before Vergil sighed and lowered him until he was eye-to-eye.

"There are several reasons I'm not going to kill you." He told Guiche. "The least of them is your begging for your life, which will quickly become an enticement to remove your head unless you still that tongue of yours." Guiche shut up. "The main reason is that it would be a very tiresome chore to clean your blood off of this coat, and I prefer not to waste time attending to such matters." Vergil dropped Guiche, turning and striding away. The boy sat there for a moment before Vergil's sword shot past his head, embedding itself in the grass. "A final warning Guiche: Do not cross me." Vergil snapped his fingers, the blades all around exploding and scattering bits and pieces of the Bronze Valkyries all over. "That goes for all of you."

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	6. The Thief

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Thief

– The Devil –

**Tristain Academy of Magic  
>Night<strong>

Vergil was disappointed, to say the least. While his acceptance of Guiche's duel had been a matter of honor, he had also tried to gain some insight as to how these mages fought. The same had been his objective when he'd allowed those bandits to capture Louise, something he'd not have done had he not detected Kirche, Tabitha and Sylphid.

And, as with Guiche, he found them lacking. Guiche was acceptable, he was still learning. The bandits, Vergil supposed he couldn't expect much from them. But here he was, patrolling the castle for the third night in a row, disappointed. He was even missing _Dante_. His twin brother, as annoying, rude and uncouth as he was, was still the best swordsman other than Vergil, and knew how to put up a decent fight at the least.

"Partner, you seem kind of quiet. Something on your mind?" The scabbard on Vergil's back shook as Derflinger drew himself out of it somehow, making room for the piece of metal that served as his mouth to move. Vergil had been forced to use the techniques he'd used when he'd wielded Force Edge for that short time a decade or more ago, rather than the Iaido he'd used with Yamato. It was annoying, because he didn't strike quite as fast as he did with his inherited blade, but he'd make do.

"I do not boast when I say I am one of the best swordsmen where I come from." Vergil replied. "And I am sure, as an ancient and well-used blade Derflinger, that you understand what it is like for swordsman with no worthy opponent to be found?"

"Yeah, I know the type." The blade admitted. "Some were humble, some were arrogant, and some merely took pride in their abilities. They were antsy lot though, always itching for a scrap."

"Indeed. Like a potter or a blacksmith, us swordsmen take pride in our skill, and always seek to challenge the work of others to ensure we remain at our peak." Vergil continued. "But these mages…none are swordsmen, none are warriors. Those we engaged earlier today gave me no challenge. It is a tiresome and boring thing."

"Don't worry partner, I'm sure you'll find someone to give you a challenge." Derflinger comforted.

"I can only hope so." Vergil replied softly.

– The Zero –

_Here she was again. Back in this nightmare…Idly, Louise wondered when the voice would come to taunt her…_

_This place was grotesque, marble columns around a pit seemingly made of some sort of purple goo. And in the center of it, stood – if 'stood' was the correct word – an enormous, shifting mass of the goo, strange appendages emerging from and sinking into its form, faces morphing out of its flesh. And before it was…_

Vergil!_ The man standing before the blob had the exact same features as Louise' familiar, and his hair was down around his head like Vergil's had been when first summoned…but this man had a coat as red as blood, and wielded in his hands an enormous sword with a ribcage and skull forming part of the hilt, and two bones as the guard, rather than the 'Summoned Swords' her familiar used._

_"Regardless of how strong you are, you're nothing but a half-breed! You cannot defeat a true demon, the real Sparda!"Louise wondered about that. Vergil had introduced himself as 'A Son of Sparda'…and then the creature struck, extending an arm of goo at the man, when Louise's body drew and sliced with the curved sword, cutting creature's hand from its extended arm from her vantage point many feet away and above them. "What's this!" Both the monster and the man turned to look up, seeing her. "Damn you!" The monster cried, while the man's face held an expression of recognition and shock. Louise rose, feeling her mouth move, and was shocked._

_"I've come to retrieve my power!" Vergil's voice issued from her mouth, the familiar regal tones echoing about the area. Her –Vergil shifted the arm holding his blade, pointing the tip at the monster. "You can't handle it." She – no, Vergil – Leaped from the platform and landed adroitly near the red-coated man, flicking the sword around so its tip pointed at his throat. He didn't seem too concerned about it._

_"Look at you," He said, gesturing, "Making a big, dramatic entrance and stealing **my** spotlight."_

_"Well…" Vergil said, stepping back. "You don't possibly believe **he** deserves to be our main event, now do you?" He flicked his sword again, batting the hand back to the monster and turning._

_"Now that you mention it, you're right." The red-coat hefted his blade in one hand impossibly, resting it on his shoulder as he and Vergil strode towards the monster. Some sort of low rumbling issued from the beast, and Louise realized it was chuckling._

_"Do you feel you can defeat me?" It asked, waving its tentacles. "Defeat the power of your father, the great Sparda!"Vergil lifted his hand, one finger extended._

_"You should come to realize you cannot control the power of Sparda."_

_"You're wasting your time buddy." The other man added, bringing his sword to bear. "I think he needs to learn the hard way." Vergil glanced at him, the struck the extended sword with his, before the two rushed the creature. They attacked in concert, slicing off slabs of the beast's flesh and waving, curling tentacles as it shifted. Then it struck, forcing the two back, whereon the red-coat sheathed his blade and brought out what looked like two pistols from his back, one white and one black, firing impossible amounts of bullets into the monster. Vergil's Summoned Swords struck as he dashed back in, closing with the beast until it roared, sinking into the goo, and rising in its place were strange eel-like serpents, fat and wriggling in the air. They were easily dealt with though, between the red-coated man's guns and Vergil's swords and blade._

_And when those were destroyed, the beast dropped in from the sky, nearly squashing the two swordsmen under its bulk. The battle continued like that for a time, the creature obviously frustrated, and unable to do anything else as the two weakened it and destroyed its creatures when it retreated. Finally, it groaned in pain as the red-coated man flourished his sword, rushing at the beast and stabbing it in the side. Louise watched from Vergil's perspective as he too stabbed the beast in the opposite direction. It roared, swinging its appendages and knocking the two back. Vergil recovered, and struck the hilt of his blade with his palm, shoving it into the monster's innards. Apparently the other man did something similar, for his greatsword or whatever ejected out at Vergil, who caught the grip and flourished it, moving as he did so that he stood next to the red-coated man, who held Vergil's strange, curving sword. They charged, Vergil swinging the not-so-heavy sword at the beast as his opposite sliced with his blade. Some sort of white ichor gushed from the wounds, as the two exchanged blades again; Vergil receiving his with what Louise felt was like relief._

_"It can't be…it cannot!" The red-coated man smirked at the creature's lament, drawing his pistols and twirling them about before aiming both. A roar and a sweeping tendril knocked the black gun out of his hand, only for Vergil to catch it, aiming it at the beast._

_"I'll try it your way for once." Vergil said calmly._

_"You remember what we used to say?" The man asked. A small smile graced Vergil's face._

_"Don't do it!" The monster pleaded. Ignoring him, the two stepped closer, the red-coated man bringing his pistol up, while Vergil rested his borrowed gun's barrel along the top of it, sideways._

_"Jackpot." The two chorused, firing. The bullets fired, spiraling about one another and trailing red and blue before piercing the beast._

_"I HOLD THE TRUE POWER OF SPARDA!" Was its cry._

_"Not very classy for someone's dying words." Vergil remarked. The beast's bulk faded away, revealing what looked like a solid version of Vergil's Summoned Swords, two amulets swirling about it. Vergil rushed forward as they fell, into a dark pit in the center of the area, his near-double close behind…_

**Louise's Room, Student Dormitory  
>Morning<strong>

"Louise." Again, Vergil's voice awoke the student mage easily, and unlike the last time, she was used to the nightmare or dream and got up calmly. The morning was routine, Vergil awaiting her outside as she dressed, and the two proceeding to the dining hall. If anyone found anything wrong about Louise' familiar eating with the rest of them, they didn't dare say so, the example of Guiche's golems serving to keep them quiet. In fact, Louise found that people in general hesitated to call her by her insulting nick-name now, probably because Vergil was almost always by her side.

As they ate, the dream weighed on Louise's mind. She compared the face of the red-coated man with Vergil's, and they really were exactly alike. The curiosity consumed her, until finally, when they were exiting the hall, she asked him.

"Vergil."

"Yes?"

"Do you have a twin brother?" That stopped Vergil, turning him to gaze at her with those cold, icy eyes.

"I did." He answered. "Dante."

"W-what was he like?" Louise hated stuttering, but under that stare…

"…he was a fool. An ill-mannered, lazy fool. He rarely took anything seriously, and spent his life working for others." Vergil's words were short, and delivered with an unnaturally even voice, as though he was trying to control himself. "And he was one of the best swordsmen I knew, and the best marksman, bar none."

"…did he wear a red coat?" And instantly Vergil's eyes focused back on her, narrowing with suspicion.

"Just what is the source of these questions Louise?" She audibly gulped at his tone.

"W-w-well, I've been having...dreams, since I summoned you."

"Mhmm."

"The first one...I was in this place, all covered in blood, with marble statues and columns rising from it…" A spark of recognition glinted in his eyes. "And there were these creatures, which came out of it and attacked me with scythes…"

"Abyss…in the Room of Fallen Ones…" Vergil stated, gaze still on her. "You've been dreaming about my memories?"

"I-I-I guess, the one after that, it was in some stone room, with a giant hourglass-"

"Infinity Nirvana."

"-And there were more of those Abysses with some things that carried big explosive balls-"

"Wrath Hells of the Demon Army."

"And some angel-things that weren't angels-"

"The Fallen. You saw my memories of my journey through Hell." Louise gulped. _Hell!_ "Did you see the battle with Arkham?"

"Well…last night's dream…there was this enormous purple blob-"

"Yes, that was him."

"Why am I having these dreams?"

"…If I were to guess, I would suppose that my own nature is interfering with your contract, playing with it, and you only experience it directly in sleep, when your mind is at its weakest."

"Can you stop it?"

"If my guess is correct, then only the severing of the contract is the only way to stop it…And as you know-"

"The contract is only severed by death…"

"I have no desire to die, Louise. So you'll have to decide if my memories are bad enough for you to give up life."

"O-of course not! Some of the things in them are h-horrible… but not that bad!"

"I'm glad you think so." Vergil had a sardonic tone now.

"…Vergil…about your family…"He sighed.

"Let's return to your room before we begin to tackle those questions." Once they were back in Louise's room, Vergil locked and bolted the door securely, before leaning on the wall beside it. "Ask your questions."

"The blob mentioned something about your father…that he was-"

"A Devil? True." Louise's mouth gaped, and she backed away from Vergil. The half-devil sighed, and began. In short, terse sentences, almost as though he told the tale against his will, Vergil explained how his world had been infested by demons and devils, until one of their numbers discovered his morality, and fought the Legions of Hell until he defeated their master, sealing them back in their dark home. And then, for two thousand years he wandered the Earth, sealing portals to Hell and dealing with demons that made it into the world. Until, decades ago, he met a human woman and fathered two children with her.

"You and Dante." Louis said, dazed. "Are the sons of a powerful and legendary Devil in your world?" It was quite a lot to take in. Louise had just gotten used to the idea of having a mere swordsman as her familiar, and now it turned out that he was the son of a powerful Devil. Which might make him the most powerful familiar in the academy…

"Correct. And now, I believe that is enough for today." Vergil said, stepping away from the wall. "Don't you have classes to get to?"

"Well, no. There's an exhibition tomorrow for the second-years and their familiars, so the school gave us today off to practice."

"I see." Vergil gave Louise his studious stare. "I suppose you want me to perform in this exhibition, then?"

"W-well, you don't have to…" Vergil looked pensive for a moment, before he sighed.

"No, I might as well. With luck, maybe a proper demonstration of my abilities will dissuade anyone like those bandits from yesterday. Now, what I'll do..." The discussion of his abilities and what he would need to show some of them took a while, and was interrupted when they had to attend the arrival of Princess Henrietta, someone Vergil assumed was well beloved of many, given from how he'd heard the servants and students chatter during the assembly before the school gate. The carriage the princess arrived in was a primarily white-pink color, with a purple roof. The princess herself, when she stepped out, proved to be quite the attractive young woman by many standards.

Curiously, Louise seemed particularly glad to see the Princess, more so than would be usual for someone excited by visiting royalty.

– The Devil –

**Louise's Room, Student Dormitory  
>Night<strong>

With the day over, Louise was settling down for sleep, while Vergil was actually going to get some rest too. Even for him, three nights was pushing it. He was just drifting into a light slumber when a knock came at the door. Looking towards Louise, he saw a quizzical expression on her face, showing that this arrival wasn't someone she had merely forgotten to inform him about. His right hand went to Derflinger's hilt as the other unlocked and unbolted the door, opening it. A cloaked and hooded person darted into the room, quickly closing the door behind them.

"It's been a while Louise Françoise!" The person said, moving towards the risen student and hugging her, leaving the cloak and hood to flutter to the floor. Vergil, for his part, was surprised to see their unexpected visitor was the princess. "Louise…Louise…" A second after that, Louise lightly pushed the princess to arm's length before kneeling before her.

"Your highness, you shouldn't come to such a low-class place."

"Please, there's no need for formality between us, Louise Françoise." Henrietta said. "We're friends."

"Your kind words are too much for me your highness." Louise said, holding a hand to her heart.

"Excuse me." Vergil butted in lightly, giving the princess a light bow. "You know the princess Louise?"

"Yes. I had the honor of being the royal playmate." Louise replied.

"Can't you just say we were childhood friends Louise?" Henrietta admonished. Her eyes were wet, and her hands clasped before her. "I've wanted to see you for so long Louise."

"Your Highness," Louise said concernedly, rising.

"I'm sorry." Henrietta wiped at her eyes. "Ever since my father died, I haven't had anyone I could speak with openly."

"You can speak with me any time, Your Highness." Louise offered.

"Thank you Louise...and who is this kind sir?" Henrietta gestured to Vergil. "Your lover?"

"N-no he isn't?" Louise blushed a furious red, comparable to Dante's coat.

"I am not." Vergil said. "I am Louise's familiar. Vergil, Son of Sparda."

"Pleased to meet you, Sir Vergil."

"Likewise."

**Vestry Field  
>Noon<strong>

The princess had left shortly after Vergil introduced himself, leaving the master and familiar to rest for the exhibition and wishing them good luck. The day of the exhibition started with a lot of enthusiasm from Louise, and they joined the rest of the second years at Vestry Field for the event. Professor Colbert served as the announcer, introducing each student and their familiar.

The first up was Kirche with her salamander Flame, the buxom redhead posing while her familiar breathed out artistic plumes of fire. Afterwards, the blond girl with whom Guiche had double-timed, Montmorency, was up with her frog doing tricks. And then Guiche…posed with his mole Verdande. Tabitha and Sylphid demonstrated their flight. And finally, it was Louise and Vergil's turn.

"Are you sure you want to do this? We could just-"

"No Louise, this exhibition will allow me to fully show just what I'm capable of." _And possibly, draw some worthy opponents my way_. With no way of gaining infernal power in this world, Vergil sought to gain a more traditional form: skill and reputation. He sought to hone his technique with Derflinger, and gain influence from building a reputation as a powerful and deadly warrior. To do so required skilled adversaries, and this exhibition would be an exemplary way of drawing challengers, weak and strong.

The two moved onto the stage, Vergil striding with confidence and pride. Louise took her place in the center.

"Let me introduce my Familiar, Vergil, Son of Sparda." Louise began. "He is a swordsman, and will demonstrate his abilities with these golems." Louise stepped of the stage, leaving Vergil in the center as golems created by some of the staff stepped up. Unlike Guiche's Bronze Valkyries, these were made of iron and steel, shaped more like traditional heavy knight armor, wielding greatswords and lances.

"Begin!" Colbert said. And Vergil moved. He'd spent years perfecting his Dark Slayer Style, and it showed in his movements…or lack thereof, as he teleported behind two of the golems. Drawing and slicing Derflinger down in a single movement shattered one golem, while the other suffered impalement by Summoned Swords. The rest of the golems began moving finally, as Vergil struck a third before taking its greatsword and stabbing another in the torso, pinning it to the ground. He darted towards the foremost of the approaching golems, striking it from below with enough force to send the mobile armor flying into the air. A thought summoned Spiraling Swords to surround him, slicing deep into the metal of the golems as Vergil split helms with Derflinger. Mere moments after the start of the demonstration, the golems laid in shards about Vergil, to the awed and horrified gazes of the crowd.

"That was a Blast." Derf commented as Vergil sheathed him. Vergil was about to bow when an enormous tremor shook the area.

"What was that!" Louise cried, staggering as the earth shook. Vergil's eyes narrowed, and he turned to Tabitha.

"Tabitha." He said, "Take me up." The wind mage nodded, closing her book and stowing it away as they mounted Sylphid, the dragon taking them up into the air. Louise boarded just before they took off, clinging to Vergil as the dragon brought them higher and higher. Tabitha sent the dragon circling around the tower to the side opposite of Vestry Field...revealing an enormous golem, molded like clay out of the earth into a vague, headless man-shape pounding into the side of the central tower. Vergil's eyes caught sight of a cloaked figure on the construct, waiting for it to bash through the tower's wall.

"Why is this thing here!" Louise shouted over the wind.

"Vault." Tabitha answered quietly.

"A vault?" Vergil asked.

"Oh! That must be it!" Louise realized. "The academy's vault holds a lot of magical artifacts!"

"I see. So, a thief wishes to rob the academy." Vergil glanced back at the figure on the golem. "I suppose I'll have to stop them then." Vergil stood up on Sylphid's back, legs tensing before he 'Tricked' as Dante called it, teleporting into the air above and between the golem and the dragon, and once more to land upon the golem's shoulder. The thief turned to face him as he approached, apparently taken aback going by his or her posture.

"How did you get up here?" A woman's voice, Vergil noted, studying the figure before him. "No matter, begone!" The golem's earthen skin lurched, the mage seeking to throw Vergil off of her creation. Vergil simply Tricked up, and down again behind the thief. But as he slashed Derflinger at her head, a quick wave of her wand summoned a tendril of earth to parry the blow. _Hmm…this thief may be a good fight…_ Vergil thought. Another gesture from the thief made the golem's surface roll, separating the two combatants from each other. A flick of the wand warned Vergil, and he leaped just in time to avoid a large spike erupting from the surface, landing on the construct's arm. And then he heard Louise shout.

"Fireball!" Rather than the expected exploding ball of fire, nothing happened for a moment, as the mage and her golem paused. Then an explosion shattered the arm upon which Vergil stood, sending bits and pieces of the limb flying along with the half-devil. Vergil 'Tricked' down, landing lightly on the grass and suffering only a few nicks from the explosion's shrapnel. Standing back up, Vergil saw the golem's other arm swing at the tower's wall, where he saw another effect of Louise' spell: a spider-web of cracks and charred stone, weakening the structure. Vergil was about to return to the fight when the golem's fist breached the wall.

Indescribable, Infernal **_POWER_** filled the air, sending Vergil to his knees feeling as weak as a recovering addict confronted with his favorite drug. The heady feeling flooded Vergil's soul, dragging him back into memories of the might he wielded. He struggled, looking back up as the thief raced out of the hole in the tower and across her golem's arm, a long, thin package strapped to her back. At the sight of it, Vergil's eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed.

– The Devil –

Alright, and now all is set for the first of the big, true battles. And Vergil has a reaction to the academy's artifact…now what could that mean?

Review Replies:

HolyKnight5: You're close but still a little bit off the mark.

Takeshi Yamato: Well, I personally liked how it was used in The Hill of Swords, so I decided to incorporate something similar in here, hand-waving it with the whole 'Devil-Contract' thing.  
>Fear the Fangirl.<br>That's FoZ canon.  
>Well, it'd be pretty much a blending of both UC and Wing in some ways, if the setting was like an Armored Core game.<p>

bakapervert: See above.

Orchamus: Eh, I looked up pictures and they matched well enough for me.  
>They'd probably make a good couple indeed, but I just don't see Vergil as he is now having any interest in romance…<br>See above.

a fan: I'm trying to figure out what would be character development, and what would just be plain OOC… it's a thin line.  
>I'm working off of the anime, and in his introductory episode he's pretty much a straight-bladed weapon with a single edge.<br>Yeah, but this is Vergil…and I don't think Dante's actually gotten anywhere with any of the DMC girls…

Anime Game Writer: I'm pretty much working off of the games here, since I never read the manga or novels, and the anime had nothing about Vergil in them, although I do ascribe to the theory/fact that Vergil is Nero's father.  
>I think, personally, that after his (teenage?) fling with Nero's mom, Vergil became the power-obsessed awesome guy we see in DMC3.<p>

Nivek Beldo: Pretty much.  
>That it does.<br>Yep.  
>Oh yeah, definitely.<br>Thank you.

Bradley McCloud: I'm pretty much just jumping on the FoZ crossover bandwagon, and as far as I can tell, every story seems to have the same premise: Louse summons character X from universe Y, Awesome stuff happens. And the events that happen in the anime were pretty much set into motion well before Saito was summoned, so I imagine the events themselves would still happen, but with the outcomes altered due to Vergil being the summonee.

pyromania101: Louise is pretty much just seeing Vergil's memories, in this case from the last few missions of DMC3.  
>Well, we can't know because all we really see of Vergil is in DMC1 as Nelo Angelo and DMC3 as himself, and he's always focused on business there. Likes and Dislikes aren't really explained, so I'm just throwing some stuff in.<br>Nope. The Spear of Destruction is, literally, a Spear of Destruction. You'll see next chapter.

Kojiro Kun: Unfortunately, golems don't exactly have a lot of blood. Unless they one of those Blood Golems summoned by Diablo II's Necromancer…but then, those are nothing but blood…

VictoriousVillain: Thank you.  
>Yeah, I was thinking about that, but I lost my copy of DMC4 and only have DMC3 to go off of. I suppose there are some Youtube videos though…<p>

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	7. The Spear

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Spear

– The Devil –

**Classroom, Tristain Academy of Magic  
>Afternoon<strong>

The classroom rang with the sound of chattering students, each a teenager far too immature to keep their mouths shut, at least in Vergil's opinion. The half-devil's thoughts though, were on the same event that concerned everyone else: the breaking of the school's vault and the theft of this 'Spear of Destruction'. The thief had been arrogant enough to leave a note written into the vault's stone walls, signing it 'Fouquet, The Crumbling Dirt'. Everyone was going on about the insult this was to the academy, among other things. Vergil found himself concerned for a far, far different reason.

_That feeling…_Vergil's eyes narrowed as he recalled it. _It was far too much like a Devil…and it only appeared when the vault was first breached…which means that this 'Spear of Destruction…must be a Devil's Arm…_

"Ugh, it's so boring having study hall." Kirche said, moving languidly next to Vergil. "But I know a way to keep us entertained…"

"Kirche." Louise growled from Vergil's other side. She'd been eyeing Kirche as though she intended to attack the red-head as she attempted to seduce Vergil again. "He already said he's not interested. Leave him alone."

"Oh, but it's so dull waiting around while they deal with this mess." Kirche moaned, sidling closer to Vergil. "You know, I hear the princess might be blamed for this."

"What!" Louise cried "Why would they blame the princess!"

"Well, there aren't that many guards here and all of them were reassigned to protect the princess while they visited." Kirche explained. "And, it seems the princess came here despite a lot of objections…" Louise looked guilty at that, probably because, Vergil guessed, the princess had mainly come to see Louise and her new familiar. But before the conversation could proceed anywhere, Colbert came into the classroom, looking a little panicked.

"Miss Tabitha, Miss Vallière, come to the headmaster's office immediately." Louise frowned as she rose, following Colbert outside the room with Vergil and Tabitha in tow, as well as Kirche for some reason. Vergil ignored the redhead's continuing attempts to seduce him, keeping his attention ahead. As they exited the tower and headed for the central structure, Vergil's thoughts drifted from the thief to Louse. The fact that the young girl was experiencing his memories in her dreams was…disquieting. Thus far she'd only seen him slaughtering demons and fighting Arkham, and he'd managed to ward off her concerns by focusing on his father's deeds, but if she continued to view the events of his life in a linear fashion…things could get complicated.

The group arrived at Osmond's office, entering to find a sort of meeting between Osmond, Miss Longueville and several of the school's faculty. Louise finally noticed Kirche when the students lined up before the staff, Vergil a step behind them.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh come on, this looks interesting."

"While questioning people in the city," Longueville began, "I was informed of a strange figure entering an abandoned cabin deep in the words. The citizen's descriptions were detailed enough for me to draw this." She retrieved a parchment, upon which was drawn the exact image of the thief Fouquet as Vergil had seen her.

"That's Fouquet." Louise confirmed, Tabitha nodding in agreement.

"We should report this to the palace immediately." Colbert recommended. "They can get the knights moving to go and apprehend this thief."

"No, it will take too long to get word to them and mobilize the knights." Osmond said. "And then Fouquet will escape. No, we will capture Fouquet and retrieve the Spear of Destruction ourselves, and restore our academy's honor. Any volunteers raise your wands." None of the teachers did so. Vergil couldn't help but feel contempt towards them. Here was their honor tarnished, and they wouldn't do a thing to reclaim it? "What's wrong?" Osmond demanded. "Are there no nobles here who wish to gain fame by capturing the infamous Fouquet?"

Louise raised her wand.

"I will go!" She declared, to the shocked gasps of the teachers.

"I as well." Kirche raised her wand.

"Zerbst?" Louise looked confused.

"I won't lose to a Vallière." Kirche said. Next to Louise, Tabitha raised her staff. "Tabitha! You don't have to do this, this is our problem."

"Worried about you two." She replied.

"Thanks." Louise said. Osmond chuckled, twinkling eyes gazing at the trio.

"I suppose we'll have to leave you three to it." He said. "And Vergil, of course." He added upon seeing Vergil's expression. "These two have seen Fouquet themselves, and Tabitha is a Chevalier, despite her young age."

"Chevalier?"

"What, seriously?"

"Miss Zerbst is a member of a military family, and I hear her flames are quite hot." Kirche chuckled. "And Miss Vallière…well…she is of the Vallière family, which has produced many very strong mages…and eh…How should I put this…has a bright future?" Osmond actually sweated under the glare of Louise. "Oh! Yes, and her familiar is a powerful swordsman, capable of defeating many golems such as the ones Fouquet may summon!"

"That's right!" Colbert exclaimed. "He's the legendary Gand – eh…ahem." He stopped himself before spilling the secret to the entire room.

"The Academy looks forward to your eventual success and return." Osmond finished.

"Old Osmond." Miss Longueville stepped forward. "I would like to accompany them as a guide."

"Oh, would you Miss Longueville?"

"Indeed. I had planned to do so all along." The secretary smiled.

"This is all quite inspiring." Vergil said, moving forward until he was facing Osmond directly. "But before we depart, I would like to ask about this Spear of Destruction. Just what is it?" Osmond's look was contemplative as he locked stares with Vergil, before the old man sighed.

"The Spear of Destruction is a powerful magical weapon, which no mage has been able to use." He began. "I acquired it decades ago, during a time when I worked with a group of fellow mages in clearing the wilderness of monsters and wild beasts for settlers. During one such hunt, my fellows and I came across a place where the earth was scorched to glass and the stone bubbled and ran like water. In the center of this devastation was a being, humanoid in appearance but taller than any man, with black plate armor and a horned helm, bearing two enormous raven wings upon its back." The headmaster stopped, seeming to struggle with the memory. "It saw us, and leaped forth with an enormous spear in hand, black with a glowing red head. Bolts of blood-red flame leaped from that spear and incinerated five of our number without any of our fire mages able to divert the flames. The battle lasted longer than any other, until our water mages were able to weaken the creature enough for me to strike the final blow. The being dissolved into the same strange flames that slew many of my friends, leaving behind only its spear." He paused, glancing around. "You see, of course, why it must be recovered. As it is now, it is merely a black spear, but if Fouquet should somehow find a way to use its power…"

Vergil nodded, as did the three behind him. Fouquet could do serious damage if she ever managed to unlock the Spear's potential. Of course, Vergil had reason to believe that neither her, nor any mage ever could.

**Fouquet's Hideout  
>Evening<strong>

The team arrived at the cabin after a long wagon ride, driven by Miss Longueville. The trip was uneventful, other than a small fight incurred by Kirche's continuing seduction attempts and Louise's fury at her. As they approached, Vergil felt it again. Unrestrained Infernal Energy, leaking out of the cabin like it was lit on fire. Unlike the fight earlier, Vergil was prepared for the power.

"What? It just looks like some old lumberjack's cabin." Kirche complained.

"It may just be camouflage." Louise suggested. "For Fouquet to – Wait, Vergil, where are you going!" Vergil ignored her, striding to the cabin's door and kicking it open. Nothing exploded, and no blades sprang out to try and impale him, so Vergil simply entered the cabin, going straight for the source of the Infernal Energy. The cabin was a simple affair, table, dresser, bed. Next to the dresser, straight across for the door was a long box. He heard two of the others enter behind him, but ignored them, instead going to the box and opening it.

There it was. Vergil could feel the waves of power blanketing him.

And then Louise screamed. The cabin's roof was torn off by a giant stone hand, revealing Fouquet's golem. A quick scan revealed that Fouquet was not riding her creation this time. Tabitha and Kirche attacked, first with a powerful gust of wind, and then with a powerful blast of fire. Both proved rather ineffectual. Vergil spotted Louise then, moving behind the golem and raising her wand. Flicking it caused only a small explosion on the golem's back, shattering a small section of stony skin. The golem turned towards her.

"Damn." Vergil muttered. Drawing Derflinger, he darted forward as the golem's fist descended. He reached Louise and 'Tricked' the two of them away just before the fist touched. "Fool." He swore. "What were you thinking?"

"I-I couldn't run!" Louise cried. "If I did, then everyone would make fun of me!"

"Foolishness. Complete foolishness." Vergil muttered, grabbing Louise and 'Tricking' away as the golem smashed down again. "Might controls everything. If you want them to stop making fun of you, grow stronger! Gain power through whatever means you can." Sylphid swooped down from above, Tabitha having summoned her dragon while Vergil was forced to save Louise. "Now, stay with them and let me deal with this." He hoisted Louise up, letting Kirche grab her before he turned to face the golem.

He really missed Yamato now. This construct would have been dealt with easily with the blade that cut through dimensions.

"Well, looks like a big fight partner." Derflinger said.

"Indeed." Was Vergil's cool response. He dodged the golem's next strike, hacking at its leg as he did so. The loss of its limb momentarily inconvenienced the golem, making it stumble before dirt and rock rose from the ground to regenerate.

_Damn. At this rate of regeneration, I won't get anywhere slicing away at it._

"Vergil!" He glanced up, seeing Louse…dropping the spear? As the wrap fluttered away from it, Vergil could see the black metal that it was made of, sucking in the light to illuminate the script that covered it butt to head. Vergil reached with his free hand, catching the spear.

**_"Bah. What fool Mortal dares to try and wield me now!"_** The deep, rasping voice filled Vergil's mind, a presence ancient and powerful peering into his soul. **_"Who dares try to wield Abaddon The Destroyer!...This feeling…is that you Sparda!"_**

"No. I am his son." Vergil responded quietly, even as the golem moved towards him.

**_"Really? How is he these days?"_**

"Dead."

**_"I should have guessed. This makes me the last of the Old Guard then…Well then. You seem to be in a spot of trouble Young Sparda."_**

"A little." Vergil admitted, 'Tricking' backwards and out of the golem's reach.

**_"For old times' sake then, I'll lend you my power, Son of Sparda… that, and it's pretty boring being holed up in a vault."_** The Spear – Abaddon glowed, the inscriptions in its shaft brightening with fire as the blade heated white-hot, erupting in blood-red flames.

"My apologies Derflinger." Vergil sheathed the intelligent sword, flipping Abaddon about in his left hand and gripping with his right hand closer to the butt. And frowned.

_How do I know this stance?_ Unlike Dante, Vergil's self-training was more disciplined, focusing on use of Yamato and his martial arts, later on incorporating training for large swords when he'd figured out he'd need to obtain Force Edge. He had never touched a spear, and had little idea how to handle one. The conundrum, however, would have to wait as the golem struck with its fist heading straight for Vergil. Vergil stepped back, right side going back and lifting the blade up to stab forward into the golem's fist. As it embedded into the appendage, Abaddon's tip flared red, flames coursing throughout the golem's hand and scorching the stone and packed earth until the hand disintegrated.

**_"Hm. Very good."_**

Vergil withdrew the spear and 'Tricked' up to the golem's torso, stabbing it in the center before hanging onto the embedded weapon and jerking it down, tearing a large gash before he fell, taking up the stance again.

**_"Now, the finishing blow!"_** Vergil stepped his right foot back again, releasing Abaddon with his left hand and twirling it in his right until he gripped it in its exact center of balance. Then, stepping forward, he threw the weapon with all his considerable strength, aiming straight at the golem. For an instant, Abaddon hung in the air, its blade glowing brighter until Hellfire enveloped the spear, and then it launched forward, causing a massive shockwave of air to gust about behind the weapon as it pierced the golem…and exploded, blood-red flames engulfing the golem and all about it, hungrily consuming the construct, the cabin, and the grass all about.

Vergil stood back from the inferno, when something heavy landed on him from above.

"Ooh, Darling! So impressive, and the flames, so hot!" Kirche rubbed her body on Vergil's back, clinging to him.

"Indeed, that was impressive." From the forest behind them, Longueville stepped out, as Tabitha and Louise dismounted Sylphid in a more conventional manner than Kirche. "But, the Spear…"

"My apologies." Vergil said. "But the energy required to destroy the golem were great…too great for the spear."

"I see…that's a shame." Longueville sighed. "Well then, we should return to the academy, and inform the headmaster about our failure."

"Not quite yet, I think." Vergil said, stopping the group before they could move. "We still have a job to finish."

"How?" Louise asked. "The Spear is destroyed, and Fouquet was never here."

"Actually Louise, Fouquet was with us the entire time." Vergil explained. "Right, Miss Longueville?" The secretary looked startled, before chuckling and reaching around to free her hair, removing her glasses too.

"…How did you figure it out?"

"In truth, I merely suspected. But the resemblance between you and Fouquet started it, and your position as Osmond's secretary gave you plenty of opportunity to learn about the vault and positioned you to steal. Thank you for confirming my suspicions though." Vergil turned, drawing Derflinger as he went. "Now, will you come quietly?" Fouquet didn't respond with words, instead incanting a spell and firing spikes of stone at Vergil. A 'Trick' teleported Vergil away from the spikes and behind Fouquet. A simple knife strike to the back of her neck disabled her, allowing the four to restrain her with manacles.

**Tristain Academy of Magic  
>Night<strong>

The trip back to the academy was as uneventful as the trip away, only becoming somewhat tense when Fouquet awoke halfway back to the school. However, without her wand, she was effectively disarmed, and gave little trouble. The debriefing by Osmond had been simple, and straightforward. Vergil explained that the Spear had been a Sorcerous Weapon from his world, created to fight powerful creatures, and he had been forced to use it to deal with Fouquet's golem. He could tell that both Colbert and Osmond had only grown more curious as to Vergil's origins, but they didn't ask about it.

Fouquet was taken to the palace, and Louise and Kirche were to be knighted, with a ball celebrating them and Tabitha going on right now.

Vergil did not attend. Instead, he stood on a tower's roof, gazing into the night. And then, he held out his hand.

Coils of Hellfire drifted into existence, spiraling up and down in helixes until uniting into Abadddon.

**_"Heh, that was a good story you fed them, Son of Sparda."_**

"It was true enough in the facts." Vergil replied. "And if I left out that you reconstituted after the golem was destroyed, well, they won't know for a long time."

"Man, you two are some sneaky Devils." Derflinger popped out of his sheath.

**_"Well, after over six thousand years of life, I'd think even I picked up some subterfuge."_**

"Eh, you're six thousand years old! So am I!"

Vergil sighed.

**Devil Arm File: Abaddon, The Spear of Destruction**

A famous Devil renowned for his destructive might, Abaddon was once an Archangel charged with the destruction of Heaven's foes, but turned against his fellows with Lucifer and the other Fallen, using his abilities to slay many angels and devastate the Earth. When the Devils were imprisoned in Hell, Abaddon was given a domain in the region of Gehenna to rule over, and there he created his Kingdom of Destruction, a wasteland of volcanic ash and obsidian, charred by the fires of his throne. Abaddon has not been heard from since the Fall, and no Demon sent into his realm ever returns.  
>Somehow, Abaddon was transported to Halkeginia, where he was eventually confronted and defeated by a younger Osmond and his companions, sealing himself in his spear to prevent his death.<p>

As a Devil Arm, Abaddon takes the form of a black-shafted spear, inscribed with Infernal script of his victories, tipped with a glowing red-white blade, so hot that the air around it is burned into Hellfire. Abaddon can gather and fire this Hellfire in bolts powerful enough to reduce several humans to ash. As its ultimate technique, Abaddon can, when thrown, turn into a bolt of super-concentrated Hellfire that can match the force of a thousand mortal explosives, if desired, creating vast devastation.

**Sorcery File: Dimensional Armory**

Sparda's trademark sorcerous technique was a spell that created a pocket dimension, from which he could access any of his weapons with ease. Dante and Vergil both inherited their own versions of this spell, although only Dante repeatedly used it, and he emptied it out after every job to store the numerous Devil Arms and guns in his weapons room. Apparently, he preferred to 'keep things interesting'. Vergil, having trained solely with Yamato, saw no need to use his Armory, having no other weapons to store. Part of his bid for Sparda's power included access to his father's Armory, which contained countless Devil Arms, each with enormous power.

– The Author –

Well, that's Fouquet finished for now. I suppose I was overestimating it as a 'big battle'…But now, Vergil's armory is expanding. And for the first time, he consciously feels the effect of Gandalfr. Because honestly, the man can teleport, and has enough regenerative power to heal from being stabbed multiple times in the chest. Compared to that, the only thing the runes will do for him is allow him to effectively use unfamiliar weapons.

And the Spear of Destruction is revealed. Honestly, I'm rather surprised that they didn't already have a Devil Arm named after Abaddon in the DMC games, but, meh.

Review Replies:

Orchamus: Oh, it will be.  
>I'm just uncomfortable writing romance, and most of the characters at this point in the story don't feel like anyone Vergil would fall for…if he can fall for someone.<p>

Victoriousvillain: Dante took Beowulf from Vergil during DMC3, so no.

EVA-Saiyajin: Yep.

Takeshi Yamato: Not so much, because she is a thief, but maybe soon in the future. Actually, come to think of it, possibly next chapter…  
>Yep.<br>Well, it's not going to happen anytime soon, you know…

Nivek Beldo: Yeah, I guess…

Bradley McCloud and Trife: I understand what you guys are getting at, I do. But logically, most of the events were progressing regardless of who got summoned by Louise. Going by that, most of these would only change when Vergil got involved, at least not until later in the story when Vergil gets more of a reputation in Halkeginia. If you guys have suggestions though, I would like to see them, PM me.

bakapervert: No Problem.

pyromania101: Well, I'm also trying to write him as changed by both DMC3 and his servitude under Mundus…I can't really tell if I'm succeeding though…

crimsonkyuubi: Thanks.  
>…You're talking about Agnes right? I can't quite keep track of all the FoZ characters…<p>

Kojiro Kun: She is a thief, I think she'd be interested in avoiding confrontation…

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	8. The Mission

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Mission

– The Devil –

**Tristain Academy of Magic  
>Midnight<strong>

It was a bright night, as almost always in Halkeginia, Vergil found, what with two moons alternating in their respective waxing and waning cycles, the darkest the night ever got here was equivalent to a full moon on Earth. Long since finished memorizing the academy's layout, Vergil instead stood on the roof of the tower where Louise's room was, keeping watch over her and, by convenience of location, the rest of the school. Preferably, Vergil would have performed his vigil with minimal noise. However, he had not reckoned the consequences of having two sapient weapons.

"Ne, Abaddon."

**_"Yeah?"_**

"Devil Arms are made from Devils, right?"

**_"Of course."_**

"And Devils were once Angels, yes?"

**_"Correct."_**

"So, did Angels ever become Angel Arms?"

**_"Oh yeah, it happened all the time. Both sides commonly turned each other into weapons for either to use. Back then though, we didn't exactly have the process completed, and didn't have the…finesse to maim a soul to the point that it was non-sapient but still have its powers." _**Abaddon explained. **_"So, near the end of the War in Heaven, there were a lot of Devils running around with these poncy, effeminate Angel Arms that just wouldn't stop whining. You know what happened to the original Azrael? Sparda got so tired of hearing it bitch and moan that he just tossed the spear through a Hell Gate and onto Earth."_**

"Whoa, that must have been some whining." Derflinger commented.

**_"No kidding. I can still hear that stupid, annoying voice in my head. The last I heard about him, he was used to stab some tax-evading carpenter from Nazareth after his torturers got tired of hearing him scream from the crucifixion, and got buried somewhere in some place called Rome."_**

"Harsh."

Vergil sighed.

– The Zero –

_Here Louise was again, in Vergil's body. This nightmare picked up where the last left off, Vergil falling, reaching out for the large broadsword and the twin amulets falling around it, descending towards what seemed to be a rushing river, pouring out over a protruding cliff. The sword landed tip first in the water, Vergil grabbing one of the amulets as he touched down with a splash. Opposite him, Dante, as Louise remembered his twin's name, landed similarly, the other amulet wrapped around his fist. Dante moved first, darting for the sword, but Vergil rolled forward and grabbed it, yanking it away from his twin's hands. The two stood apart for a second before Vergil focused on the amulet in Dante's hand._

_"Give that to me." He ordered. Dante glanced at the amulet before hiding his hand behind his back._

_"No way, you got your own." Vergil readied the blade, pointing tip-first at Dante._

_"Well I want yours too." He said, stepping forward. The twins began circling._

_"What are you gonna do with all that power?" Dante asked. "No matter how hard you try, you're never gonna be like father."_

_"You're wasting time!" Vergil growled, startling Louise, as it was the first time she'd ever heard Vergil anything near rage, the half-devil charging his brother. Vergil brought his claimed blade down on Dante, and the red-coated twin instantly brought his own enormous sword to bear, with Vergil catching it in his hand and Dante doing the same for Vergil's blade. Louise felt the pain as the sword sawed into Vergil's hand, and blood dripped down both of the blades._

_"We are the Sons of Sparda." Dante said. "Within each of us flows his blood, but more importantly, HIS SOUL!" The twins separated, leaping back a few yards. "And now…my soul is saying it wants to stop you!" Dante shouted, pointing a finger at Vergil. Vergil just chuckled, a chilling sound to Louise's ears._

_"Unfortunately, our souls are at odds brother." Vergil replied, holding a hand up. "I need more power!" He clenched the hand into a fist._

_"And we're supposed to be twins."_

_"Twins…right…"_

**_"Steal a soul for a second chance,  
>But you will never become a man!"<em>**

_Louise was startled by the sudden reappearance of the demonic voice, in an even more harsh form. She had honestly hoped she wouldn't ever hear it again after that second dream, but her hopes were, alas, unrealized._

_The action had started, Dante pulling out those pistols of his to hammer Vergil with lead. The more regal of the twins was already counteracting this action, pulling his curved blade and swinging it in a tight circle, impossibly intercepting each and every round. The assault of gunfire paused momentarily, allowing Vergil to perform his dimension-splitting attack, dark orbs engulfing Dante's position, only for the red-coated half-devil to leap out of them, dodging the extra-dimensional attacks._

**_"My chosen torture makes me stronger,  
>In a life that craves the hunger,<br>A Freedom and a quest for life,  
>Until the end the judgment night!<em>**

_Dante charged forth, attacking with what seemed to be a million stabs. Vergil managed to deflect a few of them, but the rest penetrated his body, impaling him again and again. Louise could feel the pain clearly, and yet Vergil lost none of his focus. A swipe of his sword interrupted Dante's continued assault, simultaneously opening a gaping wound in his twin's stomach. Rather than falling to the ground trying to hold his guts in, as common sense told Louise he should, Dante instead leaped back, firing his guns again. Then Louise realized that for all the stabs, Vergil was apparently not much worse off._

**_"Stepping forth a cure for soul's demise,  
>Reap the tears of the victim's cries,<br>Yearning more to hear the suffer of a,  
>Of a demon as I put it under!"<em>**

_Dante drove forward again, his enormous blade set like the stinger of a gigantic insect, piercing Vergil through before drawing back and assaulting him with several heavy slices. A skilled interception with Vergil's blade staggered the red-clad twin, opening him up for a quick dash forward with a flurry of slices. At this point, both twins were starting to wear down, despite the impossible regeneration Louise could feel occurring with Vergil. Then…something happened. Suddenly, Vergil felt stronger, faster, and his wounds healed up near instantaneously. And then, Dante changed. He became a best, a red-scaled monster with a grinning, fanged maw._

**_"Killed before, a time to kill them all,  
>Passed down the righteous law,<br>Serve a justice that dwells in me,  
>Lifeless corpse as far as the eye can see!"<em>**

_The demonic voice repeated the last four words of its latest chant as the changed twins clashed again and again, Vergil using his new claymore-like blade when he teleported above Dante and sliced down, a blow that Louise felt certain would bisect a heavily armored knight only creating a quickly-healed gash on the demonized man. They attacked with gusto, neither giving ground, neither advancing as the flurry of blades intercepted each other, deflected, and occasionally struck true. And then suddenly, the twins' transformations reversed as they backed off, and a new voice sounded._

_"Bless me with the,  
>Leaf off of the tree,<br>On it I see,  
>The freedom reign,"<em>

_Vergil took the claymore in two hands and threw it at Dante, the blade impossibly spinning as it coursed towards the red-clad twin. He deflected it with a cloud of bullets, some of which struck Vergil but inconvenienced the half-devil no more than a fly would Louise. Then he changed again, teleporting to Dante and slicing out with the curved blade, only for the twin to jump high into the air, leap off of some sort of magical red platform, and jump off another that appeared vertically. Vergil was already cutting through dimensions when Dante landed, a few of the slices connecting and cutting up his twin more._

_"We are falling,  
>The light is calling,<br>Tears inside me,  
>Calm me down."<em>

_This new voice was more comforting to Louise, lighter and softer than the original, something necessary with the horrifying visages and actions of the twins. The fury displayed by the two in their combat was honestly terrifying. Dante had transformed to match his twin again, and the two were tearing each other apart. _

_"Midnight calling,  
>Mist of resolving,<br>Crown me, with the,  
>Pure green leaf,"<em>

_Their ferocity only seemed to amplify the longer the battle continued. Brutal slashes that would have instantly killed any normal human merely wounded the devil twins for a moment, although the fatigue was clear to Louise._

_"Praise to my father,  
><strong>Life of vengeance, a passive test,<br>**Blessed by the water,  
><strong>Until the grave I will rest,<br>**Black night, Dark sky,  
><strong>Engage the pressure until it crumbles,<br>**The Devils cry,  
><strong>The existence of the lifeless black souls!"<strong>_

_The soft and demonic voices sang in concert as the brothers amped up their attacks, Dante charging his blade somehow with a crackling red energy that he unleashed in a powerful slash, while Vergil Summoned his Swords, the spiraling blades proving hard for Dante to avoid. And even with fresh wounds, healing slower now, the twins continued to attack._

_"Bless me with the,  
><strong>Onward to the sacred battlefield,<br>**Leaf off of the tree,  
><strong>Where justification and limits are revealed,<br>**On it I see,  
><strong>Tools of steel in rage they conquer,<br>**The freedom reign,  
><strong>Weed out the killing of victim's stalker!"<strong>_

_Despite themselves, Louise could see the twins continue to flag. Even as they attacked each other with their all, the fight weighed upon them, tiring them, until neither could maintain their transformed states. Vergil continued to strike with both claymore and curved blade, Summoned Sword launching themselves at Dante, even as Dante himself fired his guns to destroy as many of the blades coming towards him while avoiding the rest and Vergil's own attacks, until he found an opening to strike with his greatsword._

_"We are falling,  
><strong>The powers proved to end the madness,<br>**The light is calling,  
><strong>Upon I take it to end the savage,<br>**Tears inside me,  
><strong>The rays of light a truth of meaning,<br>**Calm me down,  
><strong>To my father the blood is pleading!"<strong>_

_A strike from Dante deflected an attack from Vergil's blade, but the claymore bit into his shoulder, the blood barely seen among the red of his coat._

_"Midnight calling,  
><strong>A just rage for all to feel,<br>**Mist of resolving,  
><strong>With innocent cries and hatred squeals,<br>**Crown me, with the,  
><strong>The gore of evil seems to satisfy,<br>**Pure green leaf,  
><strong>When slain and maimed and pacified!"<strong>_

_A snarl ripped itself from Vergil's lips as he struck Dante again and again and again, the blood flowing more freely than ever as both of his blades sliced into his twin's flesh until a strike from the claymore lifted him into the air, whereon the blue-clad devil teleported above him and struck down with the force of a falling dragon._

_"Bless me with the,  
><strong>My chosen torture makes me stronger,<br>**Leaf off of the tree,  
><strong>In a life that craves the hunger,<br>**On it I see,  
><strong>A Freedom and a quest for life,<br>**The freedom reign,  
><strong>Until the end, the Judgment Night!"<strong>_

_And then Dante counterattacked with a combination of hacks and slices that drove Vergil back, towards the source of the river as he was forced back continually. And then, a final strike…_

**_"Watch the footsteps but never follow,  
><em>**_Praise to my father,  
><strong>If you want to live tomorrow,<br>**Blessed by the water,  
><strong>Steel a soul for a second chance,<br>**Black night, Dark sky  
><strong>But you will never become a man!<br>**The Devils Cry…"_

_"Dante…" Vergil gasped, forced to his knee. "Am I…being defeated?"_

_"What's wrong?" His twin demanded, back towards the waterfall. "Is that all you got? Come on, get up! You can do better than that!" Vergil's fist clenched and his hand tightened around the claymore's grip. Growling, he forced himself back onto his feet. And then an ominous rumbling echoed throughout the world._

_"The portal to the Human World is closing Dante." Vergil explained, steadying his stance. "Because the amulets have been separated."_

_"Let's finish this Vergil." Dante said. "I have to stop you, even if that means killing you." Louise was at once horrified and curious. Just what was Vergil doing that made his own brother want to stop him, even killing him? Vergil responded with a flourish of the claymore, bringing it behind him as he charged Dante. The red twin responded in kind, dragging his blade through the water as they ran forth to clash again. As they reached each other, Vergil brought his sword up for a devastating downward strike…only for Dante to slice his blade out horizontally, slicing through Vergil before he could attack and sending a spray of blood arcing out._

_Vergil staggered, dropping the blade point-first behind him and his amulet before him, reaching down to pluck the golden pendant with the red jewel out of the water, and turning to look at his twin._

_"No one can have this Dante," Vergil said, voice still steady despite great pain. "It's mine." He was panting now, stepping back towards the waterfall. "It belongs to a Son of Sparda."Dante seemed to realize what his twin was doing, and rushed forward only to stop, with the tip of Vergil's sword at his throat. "Leave me and go." Vergil ordered. "If you don't want to be trapped in the Demon World…I'm staying…this place was our father's home…"Vergil stepped backward, slipping off the precipice. Dante reached forward, but a slash of Vergil's sword stopped that before he could do anything._

_And with Louise seeing through his eyes, he fell into darkness…_

**Louise's Bedroom, Student Dormitory  
>After Midnight<strong>

Louise rocketed up in bed, panting and sweating again. Shuddering, she glanced to the side to see, surprisingly, Vergil resting against the wall by her door. The half-devil studied her, noting her condition.

"Another of my memories?" Louise nodded. Vergil contemplated her. "I assume that it was my duel with Dante."

"Y-yes it was." Louise confirmed, still shuddering slightly. They were silent for a moment, Vergil still studying her as she struggled with her reawakened curiosity.

"Go ahead and ask your questions." Vergil sighed. "We may as well get it over with." Louise hesitated before she asked.

"What were you doing that caused you two to fight?" Vergil was silent for another moment.

"Gaining power."

"Huh? Gaining power? What do you mean by that?" Louise asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Impossible as it was, Vergil actually seemed a little irritated. "I was in the process of acquiring greater Infernal power, through my father's sword."

"So that's what it was…"

"Indeed. Any other questions?"

"Well…during the fight, I saw Dante change into…something…what was that?" Vergil nodded, apparently recognizing what Louise was talking about despite the lack of description.

"The Devil Trigger. An ability where we take on a form more expressive of our souls, growing stronger, faster, and more resilient."

"That sounds useful."

"It is, but-" Vergil interrupted himself, frowning as he moved from the wall in front of the door. Seconds later, there was knocking, first two long, then three short knocks. Both of them recognized the sequence, Vergil opening the door and stepping aside to allow the cloaked princess in.

"Princess Henrietta!" Louise greeted her childhood friend and ruler, before going to one knee before her. Vergil settled for a more restrained bow.

"Please, no need to stand on ceremony, Louise." Henrietta chided. "We are friends, aren't we?"

"O-of course, Your Highness!" Henrietta shook her head ruefully at Louise, before turning serious.

"Louise, Sir Vergil, I'm afraid I'm going to have to request a favor of you."

"How so?" Vergil queried.

"As you know…well, as Louise probably knows, I am engaged to marry a prince of Germania." At this, Louise's face turned sour. She absolutely despised that nation. "Due to the rebellion in Albion, Tristain is in danger, and so I must marry into the Germanian family in order to secure us militarily."

"So that's why…" Louise looked depressed. Henrietta, judging by her tone, had no desire to go through with this marriage.

"Indeed. I've long given up hope of marrying my love. Unfortunately, the Albion nobles inciting the rebellion have no desire to see this marriage happen, and have been searching for a way to drive a wedge between Tristain and Germania…and may have found it."

"Princess! What is this thing?"

"A letter."

"What kind of letter?" Vergil asked.

"…I cannot say."

"I see."

"Where is it?" Louise asked.

"It is already in Albion, held by Prince Wales of the Albion Royal Family. It's a disaster!" Henrietta lamented, going over and sitting down on Louise's bed. "If he is captured and the rebels send that letter to the Germanians…the alliance will be broken, and Tristain left to defend itself against Albion's forces!"

"Princess, this favor…"

"I'm terrible for asking Louise, but you and your familiar are the only ones I can turn to in this situation! To ask you to go to Albion, while it's embroiled in this civil war between its nobility and its royalists…"

"What are you saying? Whether the fires of Hell," – Vergil scoffed – "Or the maw of a dragon, I would go anywhere for you Princess! Leave this matter to us, the two who captured Fouquet, the Crumbling Earth!"

"Oh Louise, I am undeserving of your loyalty and friendship!"

"We shall go to Albion, find Prince Wales and recover your letter!" Vergil stared at her, until Louise was removed from her fervor and into a nervous sweat. "Ah…if you're amiable, Vergil?"

– The Devil –

Vergil considered. From what he'd learned by questioning Siesta and Louise, Albion was, literally, a floating continent in the sky, with mountain ranges and a sizable dragon population that they used in their aerial forces, not to mention a similarly large fleet of air-ships that might well have been ripped out of the pages of a fantasy novel. And judging from the discussion he'd witnessed just now, it was embroiled in civil war.

_Maybe I could find a decent opponent there._

"Very well." He assented. "But first, why don't we take care of our eavesdropper?" The confused expressions of Louise and Henrietta lasted until Vergil wrenched open the door, revealing the blond figure of Guiche de Gramont, who looked as though he would soil himself at the sight of Vergil.

"Guiche de Gramont." Vergil intoned, reaching a hand out to grab the boy's collar and lift him to eye level. "I believe I demonstrated what your potential fate would be in our last meeting if you ever crossed me. The fop's face whitened considerably, and Vergil was reasonably sure that he would pass out if he became more scared.

"Gramont? The son of General Gramont?" Henrietta asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on Vergil's arm. Vergil lowered the boy back to his feet, yet keeping a grip on his collar to keep the idiot from collapsing.

"Y-y-y-yes your majesty!" Guiche stuttered. "I would like to offer my services!" Vergil stared at Guiche. Why in the world would the fop want to go on such a dangerous mission as this? Then he noticed Guiche's face, kept firmly locked on Henrietta's, slowly regaining its color and more.

_I see._

"Are you saying that you wish to help me?" Henrietta asked.

"Most assuredly Your Highness!"

"Your father is a great and brave noble, and it seems you have inherited his qualities. Please then, Sir Guiche, would you aid this unfortunate princess." And then Guiche fainted, murmuring something about Her Highness calling him by name. "Oh dear…Is he alright?" Vergil dropped Guiche.

"Merely over-excited." He said. "Now then, I suppose, given the nature of this mission, we shall depart at the soonest time convenient, tomorrow morning. Do you have any information as to this Wales' whereabouts?"

"I have information that he is camping somewhere in Newcastle."

"…"

"Er, I have knowledge of Albion's geography, having visited with my sisters once before." Louise said. Vergil nodded. Then, Henrietta moved to Louise's desk, using her quill and ink to scribe a letter on parchment, rolling it into a scroll which she sealed with hot wax, summoned with magic. Judging by her expression, Vergil could very well guess the nature of the letter.

"When you meet Wales," She said, handing Louise the letter, "Give him this note. He should return the letter in question immediately." Having said that, she also took a ring from her finger, giving that to Louise as well. "This Water Ruby, given to me from my mother, should help prove who you come from to Wales. May it also be a charm of good luck and shelter you from Albion's harsh winds."

– The Author –

Next, Vergil meets one of the few people who could possibly give him a workout. You know, like pitting Deathwing against Edward Cullen.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter's dream-sequence. Primarily because of the lyrics. Devils Never Cry is frakking epic.

On a side-note, I've been working off of the anime up to this point, but have now discovered a source of the light novels, translated, so I guess I'll be working more from those from now on.

Review Replies:

bakapervert: No problem.

pyromania101: He's never going to get either back, not really, although I may finagle something similar…

Takeshi Yamato: Glad to hear it.  
>He'll get more before I'm done, and I shall ensure to make them suitably devastating.<br>Eh-heh…sorry, I haven't actually done with it. This story just seized my attention…I'll get on it.

Orchamus: Oh man, I could see that happening in some fanfic, definitely. Not this one though, although they'll probably come away from a meeting with deep respect if not exactly kind feelings.

krtys: Thank you.

EVA-Saiyajin: Thank you, and I'll try.

Infinite Freedom: You should be. Ohhh, you should be.

HolyKnight5:…Mwahahahahahaha!  
>Thanks for the idea.<p>

Altair: Nope. At the moment, you could consider this story to be happening concurrently with Devil May Cry 4' story, so no Yamato for Vergil. Not quite…

DMC: Thank you, I'll try.

Nivek Beldo: Pretty much.  
>Well, the Devils haven't been around for quite long enough, and given the fact that they come in many forms, they're more considered random beasties than a single, supernatural species as they should. Most of what they change is the stuff from the summonee's world, and the legends and interaction from there.<br>Yeah…contract's got nothing on Vergil.

kane: Sorry about those.  
>At the moment, I'm kind of focused on this fic, so the updates should come more or less quickly, until I start to get bored…if ever.<p>

Kojiro Kun: Well, Abaddon is kind of unique in this case in that is was previously known to and claimed by the academy, for all the good it did there. Vergil will have an easier time with the others…although it'll be harder in one way.

Lunatic Pandora1: I'm glad it does.  
>Nah, not Gungnir since that's a spear. He will get some pretty interesting Arms though.<p> 


	9. The Journey

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Journey

– The Devil –

**Outside Gates, Tristain Academy of Magic  
>Morning<strong>

It would not do to even hint that Vergil lacked patience. Oh no. His human acquaintances, few as they were, had at times remarked that he could probably outwait Death itself and then take its anthropomorphic manifestation to its resting place. What he did lack, however, was tolerance for the tardiness at others.

And so it was that Vergil found himself with Louise, waiting just outside the main gates to the academy's courtyard, with several horses bridled, saddlebags packed and prepared to depart, only to be delayed by what, in Vergil's eyes, was Guiche's inexcusable tardiness. The two of them, Master and Familiar, waited. Louise was dressed in her normal attire, except for her footwear, wearing riding boots that were much tougher and better-suited to the strains of travel than her shoes. As the dawn light turned into morning sunshine, the blond wannabe Casanova finally appeared, and a full hour after their agreed upon meeting time and appearing not at all apologetic about it. Vergil, as befit his demeanor and self-control, never let his companions realize the depths of his irritation.

"Ah, before we depart, might I make a request?" Guiche asked with a little trepidation.

"Yes?" Vergil asked curtly.

"May I bring my familiar along with us?" Vergil considered. Guiche's familiar, if he recalled correctly, was a mole as large as a Doberman. Other than that he knew next to nothing about it.

"If it can keep up."

"Oh, thank you Sir Vergil!" Guiche cried, dramatically sweeping a bow before the half-devil. Vergil, as with most of Guiche's histrionics, quite simply ignored the fop. "Verdandi! Come out!" A small tremor engulfed a patch of ground, from which Guiche's giant mole familiar burst out, snuffling around like a small bear. "Verdandi! Oh, my wondrous and cute Verdandi! Ah, you look so cute no matter how I look at you! Have you eaten your breakfast of earthworms?" The mole gave what was apparently an assenting noise, for Guiche began rubbing cheek-to-cheek with the creature.

"Er, are you sure we should bring it with us?" Louise asked them, a bit perturbed. "I mean, Albion is a floating continent after all…" Apparently, Verdandi just then noticed Louise, and tackled the short, pink-haired girl, snuffling all over her and making her shriek. "Ah! What is this stupid mole trying to do!" She started to roll over trying to escape the prying nose of Verdandi, making her disheveled and…exposing…certain items. Guiche stared, enraptured, while Vergil just repeated an action he'd found himself resorting to much more often in this insane world: He sighed. "You insane mole! Don't go sniffing the princess's ring!"

"Ah, that must be it!" Guiche declared. "Verdandi has a nose for valuable gems and minerals!"

"It's a pest!"

"She most certainly is not! Such an ability comes in handy, and is only natural considering I am an Earth mage!" Before the potential argument could escalate any further, a strong gust of wind burst from nowhere, striking Verdandi and sending the giant mole flying to land a few yards away. Vergil had already tracked the attack to its source by the time it struck, dropping off of his horse and drawing Derflinger. "Who is that!" Guiche cried, ducking behind a horse. A man stepped out of the nearby forest shadows, stout and judging by he held himself, a noble. A wide-brimmed hat with a feather stuck in it, much like the ones in the tales of musketeers, donned his head, and his figure was wrapped in a dark night blue cloak with rampant griffins on either side of the front. His features were handsome, with a short grey goatee and moustache on his face. Similarly colored hair hung down from under the hat, to about chest length on the man's front. Noticing Vergil, the stranger sheathed a strange blunt sword he carried and held up his hands to convey an intention of peace.

Vergil didn't relax one whit.

"I am not your enemy." The stranger assured them. "I was sent by the princess to help you in your mission, as she was worried so few of you would be unable to reach Albion, and sending an entire contingent of soldiers would be far to conspicuous." The stranger hesitated briefly, eyeing Vergil, before sweeping off his hat and bowing. "I am Viscount Wardes, Captain of Her Highness's Griffin Knights." That proclamation brought Guiche out from behind the horse, eyes starry at what Vergil assumed was to be a fairly famous person. The Viscount turned to him. "My apologies for harming your familiar sir, but I couldn't stand to see my fiancé being harassed." Vergil turned to Louise to see the girl blush brightly and sheathed Derflinger.

"Viscount Wards…" Louise seemed to complain, probably about their relationship being so matter-of-factly revealed.

"It's been such a long time. My Louise, my dear Louise." Wardes said warmly, stepping closer to Louise and picking her up in a hug.

"Viscount, please! There are people here!" Louise squealed, her blush becoming luminescent.

"Ah yes, your companions. Would you care to introduce me?" Louise flushed once more, righting her clothes from both Verdandi's assault and Wardes' hug before speaking

"This is Guiche de Gramont, a classmate, and my familiar, Vergil." Guiche was unable to meet Wardes' eyes, but both Vergil and Wardes studied the other.

"I've heard a lot about you Mister Familiar." Wardes said with a reflective look on his face. "Thank you for taking care of Louise for me."

"It was no trouble." Vergil responded. "I owe her."

"Indeed? How so?" Vergil noted Louise and Guiche leaning closer to listen, the latter probably because this was the first he'd heard of Vergil's debt, and the former because she was curious as to just what she'd taken him from.

She could wait longer.

"Let me just say that her summons came at a…opportune moment." Vergil replied. He examined Wardes again, more discreetly, noting the noble's far better physique than any he'd seen yet in this world, and the blunt rapier-like sword that apparently served as his foci for magic. Wardes either didn't notice or ignored the study, whistling into the sky. Moments later, another beast of the like Vergil had only seen imitated by Greater Demons and Devils appeared, a beautiful white griffin. When it landed, Wardes mounted what Vergil presumed was his familiar, and reached out to an apprehensive Louise.

"Come on Louise, he won't bite." Wardes admonished his reluctant fiancé, before just scooping her into the saddle before him. With Wardes and Louise mounted, Vergil climbed back into his horse's saddle, Guiche following suit only moments after. "Well then," Wardes said, seeing that they were all mounted. "Let us be off!" They started then, Wardes's griffin leading them forward. Both trailing travelers were quiet, Guiche because he was apparently overcome with admiration for Wardes, while Vergil…

**_"What is it that has you so quiet Young Sparda?"_**

_"I may have found a halfway-decent opponent."_

– The Zero –

**Vicinity of Port City La Rochelle  
>Later<strong>

Wardes set a near impossible pace with his griffin, not stopping for a moment the entire trip. Despite both Guiche and Vergil having to switch to their back-up horses, and then back again, his griffin seemed just as tireless as Wardes and Vergil. Guiche, being neither a hardened knight nor a half-devil with supernatural constitution, was ragged and tired, barely able to keep his seat on his saddle.

"Er, Viscount Wardes? Shouldn't we stop and rest?" Wardes gave Louise a look.

"Louise, there is no need to be so formal when we are betrothed, together again after a long time apart…and as for resting…I had hoped to finish the journey in one go."

"We've made great time thus far." Louise said. "Surely it wouldn't hurt to stop for a few hours, allow the horses to rest?"

"Couldn't we just move ahead in that case?" Wardes countered. "They could stay and rest up and rejoin us later."

"B-but I couldn't possibly abandon them! It wouldn't do for a mage to abandon her familiar…"

By now, they had reached a narrow mountain path between two peaks, when suddenly torches fell from the peaks, illuminating the area around the group. Frightened by the flames, Guiche's horse tossed him, while Vergil had almost instantly disappeared. From the peaks, a hail of arrows rained down, many of them aimless, while others had specific targets. Wardes drew his wand-blade, summoning a gust of wind that blew the arrows away.

And then the screaming began, echoing down to the group from the right-hand peak. Louise shuddered at the thought of the scene atop those peaks, remembering how Vergil had dealt with the bandits that had kidnapped her. He hadn't merely killed them, but butchered them like animals.

Then, strangely enough, there was more screaming from the other peak, and Louise briefly thought Vergil had somehow managed to be in two places at once, before she heard a familiar flapping noise, not like Wardes's griffin, but leathery, like…

Arrows shot up from the left-hand peak into the sky, towards a familiar blue dragon. A small whirlwind simply dashed the projectiles onto the side of the peak, before another, larger gale brought the archers tumbling down into the valley. The dragon descended, and Louise positively identified it.

"Sylphid!" She exclaimed in shock, and as it landed a certain red-headed Germanian hopped off of the dragon, flipping her hair back.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Kirche said.

"What do you mean 'sorry for keeping us waiting'!" Louise fumed, jumping down from her perch on Wardes's lap. "What are you even doing here!"

"Well, I saw you and Guiche and Vergil all getting on horses and leaving this morning, so I woke up Tabitha and followed you." Kirche explained, gesturing to a still-mounted Tabitha, clad in her pajamas. "By the way, where is Vergil?" They only had the warning of Tabitha glancing up from her ever-present book when Vergil suddenly appeared before them. Derflinger was held in his hand, the sentient weapon's blade slick with gore and blood dripping off of its tip, even as the blade chattered excitedly.

"Partner that was some Sweet action! When you stabbed that one guy, took his arrow and stuck it in that other guy's eye…" Thankfully, the sword trailed off as Vergil strode back to his horse, retrieving a rag that he began to use to scrub the viscera off of Deflinger. Everyone had frozen when the half-devil had reappeared, eyes on the bloodied blade. Even Kirche, who had been known to pursue her interests in the most ridiculous of circumstances, seemed hesitant to engage Vergil, at least, not after one of his butcheries.

Louise shook off Vergil's sudden and disturbing reappearance, turning back to Kirche.

"Kirche! We're on a secret mission! You can't just-"

"Oh! A secret mission? You should have said so earlier! How would I have known if you hadn't told me about it? Anyways, be thankful to me, for I have apprehended…some…of the people who wanted to ambush you!" Kirche waved in the general direction of the ambushers, who were quite hurt by their fall, unable to move, and had been yelling imprecations at the group when Vergil had reappeared, whereupon they realized just what had happened to their fellows on the other peak and had wisely shut up in the hopes of keeping themselves in one piece. Guiche moved towards them and began questioning them, gesticulating wildly during his interrogation.

Louise just looked crossly at Kirche. "Oh don't be mistaken Vallière, I'm not here to help you." Kirche moved to Wardes, leaning on him and rubbing her 'assets' against his side. "Ne, handsome, your beard makes seem so manly…do you wish to see what passion looks like?" She said slyly. Wardes spared only a glance for her, before gently shoving her back away from him. "Huh?"

"Please, don't approach me like that ever again." Wardes asked. "I appreciate your aid, but I don't want my fiancé to misunderstand." Kirche turned towards Louise, wide-eyed and –

"If we are quite finished with greetings, could we move on?" Vergil asked, already mounted. "I believe we have almost reached the city." He drove his horse forward at a trot, passing Wardes and proceeding down the path. It was only after a few exchanged looks that the rest of them followed, leaving the ambushers to recover on their own.

Soon, they beheld the Port City of La Rochelle, sandwiched between two cliffs and glimmering with light. Before they proceeded towards the city, Louise noted Vergil hesitate almost, his normally stoic expression creasing into a suspicious frown.

– The Devil –

**La Rochelle  
>Night<strong>

To any other person in their group, the night-time atmosphere in La Rochelle was pleasant, if a bit louder than they were used to. It was much the same for Vergil, except for one thing: A hint of the Infernal in the air. This had drawn him out of the hotel where the rest of the group settled in, into the twisted alleys of the Port City, following the ever-so-slightly strengthening taint of Hell-spawned creatures. Abaddon helped in this instance, even identifying the beast as one aligned with ice.

**_"There."_** The fiery Devil Arm growled as Vergil approached a small side-alley. **_"That is where the scent of this frozen spawn emanates from."_**

"I'm guessing there's no love lost between Devils of fire and ice, neh?" Derflinger commented.

**_"Of course not." _**Abaddon hissed. **_"Crazy snow-brained freaks always thought they were closer to Lucifer than the rest of us. The arrogance!"_**

"Enough." Vergil ordered. He strode into the alley, drawing Derflinger and ready to summon Abaddon from his Armory. Ahead, the alley turned sharply to the right, and Vergil beheld his quarry. In the broadest sense, it resembled the reptilian Frosts that he had dealt with at several times in his life, including in some frozen peaks near the city of Fortuna, and on Mallet Island. It differed greatly in several ways, first and foremost its size.

The demon, one Vergil was certain would be classified as a Greater Demon, was slightly larger than Sylphid, and had the general shape as well, with large wings made out of white, frosty membrane shot through with blue veins, standing on two digitigrade legs and with muscular arms that ended in sharp talons made out of otherworldly ice. The typical armored crest of ice on its skull was enhanced with two tusk-like horns that swept back behind its head, and dagger-like protrusions stabbed down next to the mouth. The tail that protruded from the back of its neck rather than its rear as was usual for most creatures was tipped with a wedge of ice. Its head was already turned to face Vergil as he turned the corner, with blood streaking its claws and maw from the corpse it gnawed on, another body crushed underneath its foot. It turned its head to the side and spat the body out, the corpse – a woman judging by its dress – hitting the alley wall with a sickening crunch before falling back to the ground.

"I thought I smelled something Infernal and Human." The draconic Frost growled, in a voice that rumbled and hissed. "Mistress Zima will be pleased when I bring her back the corpse of Sparda's spawn."

"So there are other Devils here." Vergil commented, advancing towards the Demon. "I suspected as much." Before he was halfway to the creature, it shivered and seemed to dissolve into vapor. Vergil Tricked up as it reformed behind and above his previous position, frozen claws slicing into the ground as he brought Derflinger down on its head. One of the horns broke off, and the demon displaced itself again, retreating back down the alley. A swipe of its claws sent a flurry of sharp icicles flying at Vergil. None connected, the half-devil simply sweeping Derfligner through them and shattering them. Vergil Summoned Swords, sending the deadly sorcerous constructs stabbing into the uberFrost's right wing and shredding it. A growl preceded the demon stabbing its claws back into the ground, a wave of ice spreading for Vergil's position. Vergil simply Tricked behind it again, Derflinger biting through its tail and severing the icy wedge-shaped blade. Another displacement and the cold-blooded reptile appeared a few yards away. However, Vergil had Tricked with it, and this time, its reformation was met by Abaddon as Vergil drove the spear into the creature's foot and pinning the super-Frost to the ground. A sweep of Derflinger, and Vergil removed the demon's wing, dark blue blood spilling out into the air and splattering on the ground, creating clouds of mist as it spread. A pained shriek seemed to emanate from the Frost's entire structure, like reverberating crystal.

"Now, I believe you have some things to tell me."

– The Author –

Alright, and that's Foreshadowing.

…

Damn TV Tropes! I would have gotten this chapter out earlier if it hadn't ensnared me during my research for the story! Just one, little, tiny link in Dante's character entry, and three hours later I find myself reading about Moe.

How the hell did that happen!

Review Replies:

pyromania101: It _was_ Abaddon talking. He's a Devil, you can't expect him to be anything _but _blasphemous.  
>He'll be getting several Devil Arms, and I have a plan to get him a katana…<p>

EVA-Saiyajin: Well, if you think about it, Edward can't be much harder to swallow than a Paladin.

Takeshi Yamato: Oh yes, it can.  
>Lots of stuff.<br>Anything specific you want for the Celeste?

Orchamus: What, a dozen Neros? Yeah, that would be…not so good for certain people.  
>I didn't really do much, just wrote down my description of the fight in DMC3 as it went for me. Vergil on Dante Must Die…eugh…<p>

Kamigawa Nagamaki: Azrael was the Spear of Longinus and the poor tax-evader is the arguably most famous person in the world.

HolyKnight5: Oh yes, there will be blood.  
>I'm planning it now…<p>

Nivek Beldo: Thank you.  
>It was in the novels.<br>You got my PM, right?

SilverBack354: Thanks.

Lunatic Pandora1: Yeah, so there's really no reason for Vergil to have another spear…  
>Eh, sounds just about even with Abaddon, only focused on single-target slaying rather than mass annihilation.<p>

bakapervert: You're Welcome.

Drake202: Thanks!  
>It's going to be a long time before I even start to consider any love interests for Vergil, if any.<p>

Raditz: DotA Arms? Huh?

Kojiro Kun: Thank you.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	10. The Test

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Test

– The Zero –

**Hotel, Port City La Rochelle  
>Morning<strong>

**_"Foolish Sparda…you will serve me as one of my Lieutenants…whether you desire so or not!"_**

Louise woke much more calmly this time than with the other dreams. It was…different. Rather than seeing the memory clearly through Vergil's perspective, it had been nothing but blurred shapes and pitch-black darkness…except for that voice, and a set of three glowing red orbs in the darkness…Those orbs had made her shiver with some primal fear…something beyond any knowledge meant for mere mortals…

And then, with a start, she realized that she was alone in the room that she shared with the Viscount. And, furthermore, Vergil wasn't here to wake her. Curious, she got up and dressed, then left to go look for her fiancé and familiar.

The hotel the group (and hanger-ons) was staying in was originally a castle built to defend the region, for surrounding towns and villages to evacuate to in case of invasion. With the relative peace in the region though, it had been built around in order to serve as a port city for airships going to and from Albion, the castle itself serving as rentable quarters for nobles and their servants to stay in while waiting for ships.

In the center of this structure was a parade ground, a large circular grassy field. The main entrance of the building with the hotel rooms exited right onto the grounds. Louise, after exhausting the other potential locations, had gone out there and found Wardes and Vergil standing apart, facing each other with their respective weapons out.

"What is going on here!" Louise shrieked, both of her fiancé and familiar turning to face her.

"Ah, there is our witness!" Wardes seemed pleased. "Now the duel can begin."

"Very well." Vergil assented, Derflinger held loosely by his side. The two began circling, Wardes' spell-blade held before him, facing Vergil head on as he side-stepped, while Vergil strode in step, his head turned slightly from his path to keep Wardes in sight. Like wolves fighting for position, they circled, until finally, the first blow was swung.

– The Devil –

**A Few Minutes Earlier**

The challenge had been issued by Wardes, knocking on the door of Vergil and Guiche's room.

"Good morning." The Viscount had said when Vergil answered the door.

"Good morning." Vergil replied, as common courtesy called for.

"I've wanted to ask for a while, but are you the legendary familiar, the Gandalfr?" Vergil had allowed his expression to shift, not into shock but suspicion. No one should have known about that…unless Colbert had finally blurted it out. Or some girl had charmed Osmond. Or Fouquet had spilled during interrogation. Really, looking back Vergil didn't know why he had trusted that lot to keep a simple, potentially world-shattering secret. When Vergil didn't respond, Wardes continued. "Since that case with Fouquet, I've gained a…interest in you. Besides being Louise's familiar, you reportedly have some skill with a blade, and some strange magic. I asked Louise, and she told me you were a swordsman from another world."

_I shall have to have a talk with that girl._

"I have an interest in military history, and looking through some ancient records, I discovered a familiar with abilities much like yours: The Gandalfr."

"You must be quite the dedicated scholar to sift through six thousand years of history to find such an obscure fact." Vergil commented.

"Yes, well, I found myself wondering how the Gandalfr who captured Fouquet would be in battle. So, would you fight me in a duel?" Vergil did not allow a wide, sharkish grin to spread across his face. Those were Dante's forte. Instead, a small smirk answered Wardes' question, and they soon found themselves on the parade ground, awaiting the arrival of Louise to serve as their witness. And when she did, the duel began.

Vergil was quick, slicing Derflinger towards Wardes fast enough to make the blade blur. It was an attack only barely within the range of natural human capabilities, imitable perhaps by some master swordsman who spent his entire life building reflexes and muscle to pull it off. Wardes, Vergil was glad to see, didn't let his astonishment of Vergil's speed last long, bringing his weapon up to block Derflinger before chanting and casting a quick spell.

From Wardes' heightened speed afterwards, Vergil judged that it was some sort of wind-based enhancement spell designed to improve his speed.

_Good._

Thus far, Wardes had yet to disappoint Vergil. The Viscount managed to parry or avoid the slashes and hacks of Derflinger, and even got a few jabs in at Vergil, fruitless as those strikes were. The surprised look on Wardes face faded into a respectful grin, as he cast another spell and sent a powerful gust of wind at Vergil.

**_"Methinks this mortal looked down on you Young Sparda."_** Abaddon remarked with a hint of humor in his growl. Vergil didn't respond, bracing against Wardes' spell. The winds struck with the force of a sledgehammer, and were Vergil not braced or not half-devil, it would have forced him off of his feet. As it was, it merely pushed him an inch back before sweeping around him. Wardes was apparently shocked by this resistance, but not so that he was unprepared for Vergil's following combination attacks, expertly parrying blows from the sides and above, but losing ground while doing so. However, he made do, incanting another spell. A brief outburst of wind ruffled Vergil's coat, while Wardes ascended in a wind-empowered leap that landed him behind Vergil, before whipping about and striking with his spell-sword. Vergil simply brought Derflinger around and blocked the blade, except that it seemed this was what Wardes' wanted, as another spell sent a powerful burst of smoke into Vergil's face. Where it anyone else, this spell would incapacitate them, rendering them sightless for a short duration. On a half-devil, it merely registered as slight irritation.

Vergil didn't allow Wardes to cast again, darting forward and bringing Derflinger down in a hack that embedded Wardes' blade into the dirt, before laying the back of Derflinger against Wardes' neck. They stood like that for a moment, Wardes apparently stunned by Vergil's victory, before the Viscount let out a chuckle.

"Truly, I can understand how the Gandalfr became legendary, if the original was anything like you."

**_"Oh, I doubt it was."_**

"I admit that I had my doubts about your ability to protect my fiancé," Wardes continued, "But I now see that you truly are capable of keeping trouble away from my Louise. Now…If you'd excuse me…"Wardes massaged the wrist of his sword-hand as he walked away, back towards the hotel and leaving Louise and Vergil on the field. The two stood awkwardly…well, Louise stood awkwardly, while Vergil sheathed Derflinger and looked at her.

"What was it this time?" Louise started, and glanced at him in a confused manner before realizing what he was talking about.

"Ah…it was short this time. There was darkness, and I couldn't see anything, except for three glowing red lights –"

"Mundus."

"Huh?"

"What you saw was a Prince of Hell, Mundus."

**_"Wait, what? Mundus? Mundus became a Prince of Hell? That little shrimp?"_** Despite his curiosity at Abaddon's outburst, Vergil remained focus on Louise.

"Prince of Hell…Then…its ruler?"

"One of them."

"Huh?" Vergil almost rolled his eyes at her ignorance.

"Imagine, Louise, another floating continent like Albion, except almost completely barren and with no way off, no flying creatures to tame as mounts and no fleets of airships. Imagine that, instead of throwing their criminals in jails or executing them, the nations of Halkeginia sent all their criminals, traitors, murderers, thieves, and tax evaders, all of them, to this floating wasteland." Vergil paused to see that Louise was still listening, although he could tell that she couldn't see where this was going. "These prisoners have no guards or wardens watching them, and are left completely alone, with no interaction with the mainland except for the airships that toss more criminals onto this makeshift prison. They only have what the continent already has as food and shelter. And to claim these, they fight amongst each other, the weak dying under the fists of the strong and powerful, with criminal mages claiming the bulk of the essentials for survival. And when those supplies are exhausted, they turn to the one source of food left: Each other." Louise became visibly sick.

"In order to survive, the strong gather some of the weak as underlings and form large groups, hunting down the weakest to eat while fending off those others who wish to feed on them. A food chain is established, with the strongest, like square-class mages, at the top, each also commanding a horde of minions to do their dirty work. Small kingdoms are established by the powerful and networked, while the weak and unaffiliated struggle to survive. This Is Hell. A collection of fiefdoms ruled by the strongest Devils. Mundus was one of the strongest,"

**_"I'm still having trouble believing that."_**

"And when I was left in Hell, he enslaved me, probably as a way of getting back at my father." Vergil frowned, at more than just the mention of his servitude to Mundus._ Why am I telling her all this?_ He wondered. _Maybe Dante rubbed off on me more than I thought…_

"That's it, isn't it?" Louise asked, pulling Vergil out of his contemplation. "That's the situation that I took you out of!"

"No."

"What? Really? Then what is it?"

"Perhaps you shall see in your dreams." Vergil said, turning and leaving. He could feel Louise's fuming stare follow him as he ascended the steps into the hotel. By now, the rest of their party had awoken, and all were gathered in the common room, something like an inn, for breakfast. Kirche's eyes lit up at the sight of him, while Tabitha never glanced up from her book. Guiche was talking with Wardes, and from the awed glances he snuck at Vergil, apparently talking about their duel. Vergil simply ignored them, going up the stairs to their rooms. He entered the room he shared with Guiche, closing and locking the door behind him.

**_"I suppose you want to hear about Mundus?"_**

"No." Vergil replied. "He does not matter anymore."

"Hoy, what about that Zima person?" Derflinger spoke up. "You haven't told any of the others about her."

"Zima is an obstacle only I can deal with." Vergil explained. "Louise and the rest would have trouble dealing with a single Frost. Zima is a Devil, orders of magnitude in power above a mere Demon, even elite ones like Frosts."

"I guess that's true…" Derflinger allowed. "But still, the mission is to get the letter from Wales, and get back with it. How are you going to find time to hunt down Zima and kill her?"

"I already know where she lairs, thanks to the Frost in the alley. It's a short distance away from the port where we'll land tomorrow."

"Eh, really? That seems convenient."

"It seems Zima got too greedy where she previously lived, and the whole nest had to move so that it would be easier to hunt."

**_"Feh, typical ice devil."_**

**Night**

The rest of the day had been spent with Vergil resting for the anticipated battles, while Abaddon and Derflinger exchanged barbs, stories, and whatever else millennia-old weapons did. Vergil had just been about to rise and go join the others in whatever they were doing, when a rumbling shook the hotel. This was a major concern, for whatever shook a former castle built by magic and designed to resist the same was not something to blow off lightly. Especially when whatever it was caused the wall to explode when it shoved its enormous, stony fist in.

Derflinger carved the appendage apart before it got anywhere near Vergil. The stone fell apart and laid still for a moment, before animating and drawing back together outside of the hotel, reforming back into a stone golem's hand. It was much the same as the first giant golem Vergil had seen, which only made sense considering the same person who rode it now presumably made it.

"Fouquet."

"Gandalfr."

Standing next to her was a cloaked, hooded man with a white mask. Presumably her benefactor who'd gotten released and/or broken out of prison.

"This will teach me to trust a judicial system." Vergil commented, body loose and ready to react. Stony spikes burst from the ground around him, but Vergil was already gone and running up the golem's chest, with Derflinger stabbed into it and cutting an enormous slash as Vergil targeted Fouquet and her partner for death.

"That won't work Gandalfr!" Fouquet crowed, the gash sealing up almost as soon as it was made, as a wall of stone blocked Vergil's advance. Vergil simply Tricked up and around the wall. His downwards slash was blocked by Fouquet's ally, a spell-sword crackling with electricity. Vergil expected the lightning magic to jolt him on contact, reasoning that it couldn't be as bad as Nevan in Dante's hand. Thus, he was pleasantly surprised when Derflinger glowed slightly, with the sword exclaiming gleefully.

"I remember now! I can absorb magic!"

"You forgot that you could absorb magic." Vergil deadpanned.

"Well hey; it's been over three hundred years since I last used that…" Derflinger trailed off as Vergil forced him down onto the masked man's spell-sword, simultaneously summoning swords to circle around him. The blades struck, only to sink into another wall of stone bursting out of the golem.

Vergil was starting to get very cross with Fouquet. It was a mistake applying Dante's merciful philosophy to her. No, she died now, with her benefactor. Another Trick teleported Vergil behind her, and Derflinger cleaved through her torso. Fouquet fell in two, dirt and rock spilling apart.

A golem. A miniature, stone golem made in Fouquet's image. Despite himself, Vergil admired the earth mage's trickery. It was a very good imitation to fool his senses. By the time he turned back, the stone shield protecting the masked swordsmage had dissolved, and the man was nowhere to be seen.

_Only one thing left to deal with here._

"Derflinger."

"Yeah?"

"I wish to perform a…experiment. Be ready to absorb a lot of energy."

"Eh? What?" Vergil Tricked off of the golem as it was beginning to react, appearing in the air ten feet away and landing lightly on the ground. He held Derflinger by its blade with his left hand, hanging loosely at his side before tensing, bending his knees in a crouch and gripping its hilt with his right hand. And then he surged Infernal Energy into the weapon.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Partner! Whatever you're doing, it tingles, and not in a good way!" Derflinger was glowing now, with the same dark purple-blue energy that had bathed Nelo Angelo's zweihander. The rust that no amount of scrubbing could rub away was dissolving of its own volition, as if every individual particle feared for its existence, revealing Derflinger's original sheen and golden hilt.

Vergil had a theory about the Sparda twins' blades, Rebellion and Yamato. He knew that those blades had been forged by Sparda with powerful amounts of sorcery and magic used in the process. Rebellion, as the theory went, was made after their father had sealed part of his soul and power within Force Edge and left the blade in Hell to serve as the key to Temen-Ni-Gru's lock in sealing Mundus and his legions, and was made with an eternal thirst for the blood of demons and devils, and served as Sparda's weapon when he hunted and killed his former comrades.  
>Yamato was forged at the same time, with power over the dimensional barriers between the realms so that Sparda could seal the other Hell Gates with relative ease compared to the debacle of a ritual that was Temen-Ni-Gru. This power manifested in combat as the ability to cut without direct contact.<br>Vergil believed that the two were Devil Arms without Devil souls, making them powerful but incomplete. He thought that, for the time that Sparda wielded them, he empowered them with his own Infernal Energy to manifest their potent abilities, until eventually they passed down to Dante and Vergil, and spent decades wielded by the brothers. The theory went that there was a sort of spiritual osmosis, with the blades gaining parts of the twins' souls in order to power themselves, while the twins themselves gained some of the blades' powers, which was how Dante was so adept at slaughtering demons despite his lackadaisical training, while Vergil eventually developed the Dark Slayer Style to help make use of the 'Tricks' Yamato's power gave him. If the theory was correct, then with Derflinger's absorption and Vergil's Infernal Energy…

Vergil slashed with Derflinger, the blade yelping as the Infernal Energy surged through it, with it. The Son of Sparda performed a diagonal cut, like he had so many times with Yamato. The golem stood for a second, almost seeming confused, although that was more likely due to its creator pausing to see any effect Vergil's attack had.

And then, the construct split apart. Not into two pieces, but into hundreds, with a dozen glowing purple-blue rents in reality itself tearing it apart before fading.

"…whoa."

**_"Indeed, Young Sparda is powerful, to use such an ability with a mundane weapon."_**

"Hey!"

Vergil ignored the two weapons, studying the after-effects of his strike with restrained glee. He couldn't use it too often, not with the chance of Derflinger suffering potentially catastrophic after-effects, but this returned ability was a great comfort to him. Now though, with the golem exterminated, he could return and check on the others. He doubted Fouquet and whoever was backing her would stop at avenging themselves on just him. A simple leap to, and up the wall returned him to the gaping hole once known as his room. Stepping through the door and down the stairs, he came across an interesting situation.

The members of his party were crouched behind the common room's bar, while apparently non-magical mercenaries armed with crossbows and the odd musket were firing at them. Apparently, Tabitha had frozen the front of the bar to prevent the more powerful musket shots from penetrating, while Wardes was using his magic to throw aside any of the crossbow bolts.

A few Summoned Swords skewered the musket-wielding mercenaries, drawing the crossbowmen's attention to Vergil, who stood nonchalantly at the bottom of the stairs.

"I shall allow six seconds for those who wish to live to flee." Vergil declared, Derflinger resting on his shoulder. All of the mercenaries shifted their aim to him.

"No one? Pity."

– The Author –

Found my copy of Devil May Cry 4 and started playing through it again. Ah, nostalgia...

I admit to having hopes for this new DmC thing. I mean, sure they turned Dante into an angsty-looking teen with a smoking habit, and changed it so that he's half angel and half demon...but who knows, maybe they'll pull it off!

...

pyromania101: No problem.

Takeshi Yamato: He's not long for the role.

Orchamus: I was talking power-wise, although I don't really think Nero was angsty…

Kojiro Kun: Thank you.

Nivek Beldo: No problem.

Lunatic Pandora1: Heh.  
>…that's that sickle-sword thing that the Egyptians used, right? Hmm…<p>

EVA-Saiyajin: True.

bakapervert: You're welcome.

Silverback354: Sorry.  
>This is true. It's the fabled eighth circle.<p>

DMC: Thank you.

Raditz: Tried it. Didn't enjoy it as much as slaughtering legions of humans, night elves and horde and using necromancers to raise their dead as my skeletal warriors.

drake202: I have a plan for a future Devil Arm that'll take the form of a Chinese Chain-whip.

RoyalTwinFangs: Thanks.

HolyKnight5: We'll see.  
>Hmm…<br>Magical Contract + Half-Devil, Half-Human Soul = Mind-Fuckery.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	11. The Frost

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Frost

– The Zero –

**Air-Merchantman _Windfall_, En Route to Albion  
>Morning<strong>

The mood on the merchantman the group of Tristainians (And one half-devil) had hitched a ride on was unsettled. On the part of the _Windfall's _crew, they were running trade to a nation in the midst of civil war; something not entirely conducive to the health of merchant vessels for either side, and that was before one counted the undoubtedly up-to-no-good nobles hitching along for the ride. For Louise and the others, they were still trying to recover from Vergil's performance in the hotel.

The horror didn't quite strike the girls as much, in part because they had already witnessed Vergil's acts of butchery previously, although this one was especially notable, considering that some of the attackers had ended up with Vergil's Summoned Swords impaled through their limbs in a pose that Vergil called crucifixion. On the ceiling. The sounds the mercenaries had made had been horrible, and Louise had made the mistake of inspecting the macabre scene closer. She found that Vergil had altered the blade of his Summoned Swords, cutting the edge into teeth to make them into saw-toothed swords, all the while shifting slightly, going in and out of the horrid wounds and making them worse.

At Vergil's suggestion, they had left the hotel manager a large donation for the damages…and clean-up.

They had gotten onto the _Windfall_ through a combination of good old noble influence ("Let us on, or we blow up your ship") and Vergil's glare that promised a painful demise. Needless to say, the captain and crew had been all too happy to oblige, letting them board and rest in a half-empty hold. Take-off had been fairly normal from what Louise understood. Apparently, whoever had hired the mercenaries didn't know where they were, or were scared off by the fate of their men. Louise could understand.

Most of the time when dealing with Vergil Louise felt that she was talking to an equal that was rather mysterious and prone to keeping secrets. Slowly, Louise felt that she was connecting with him, even if it was through a strange and involuntary method such as these 'contract-dreams' and the seemingly unwilling explanations Vergil allowed free. However, when he fought…he changed.  
>He ceased to be a cultured gentleman with as noble a demeanor as her father, and became something deadly. His manner during battle could be described using any kind of animalistic metaphor, stalking like a hunting cat and striking like a snake being the most fitting in this case. And he was brutal beyond anything Louise had even heard of, leaving his opponents in multiple pieces more often than not.<p>

And aside from that brief moment before he'd massacred the mercenaries, he made no offers of mercy. And even those six seconds were offered more in cruel jest than a serious stay of his blade, Louise suspected. Her familiar was a being experienced with battle and murder, and all too willing to resort to it.

She wondered what made him this way.

– The Devil –

Vergil found he was distinctly unimpressed with the Halkeginians' method of air travel. Contemptible as he found humans, at least those of Earth had efficient, fast aircraft. These airships were slow, if steady, and highly inefficient in regards to these 'wind stones' they used as fuel.

Still, he supposed it was better than nothing. But, the sooner they reached port, the sooner he could deal with this 'Zima'. And finish this mission of Louise's, of course.

"Albion in sight!" The cry came from the crow's nest, stirring activity on the deck. Vergil gazed ahead, before catching sight of a dark mass slowly emerging from the cloudbanks. Mountains and plains crept out from their misty cloaks, revealing an enormous island or small continent, with rivers that fell off the edge and into the clouds.

**_"Impressive." _** Abaddon commented. **_"A worthy place for a Devil to rule…let's slaughter the Frosts and take it for ourselves!" _**Ignoring Abaddon's zealous pseudo-command, Vergil instead turned his attention to the side, where a mass much smaller than Albion but still quite larger than the _Windfall_ burst from the thick clouds.

"Ship on the starboard side!" The look-out cried, rather late. The ship bared its broadside of rather large cannons at the air-merchantman, its port side covered liberally in cannon ports. The crew started scrambling for the _Windfall's_ three mobile cannons, while others started signaling to try and ascertain the vessel's intentions.

**_"Ooh! Ooh! Use me! Use me!"_** Abaddon begged, sounding less like a millennia-old Devil-turned-weapon-of-great-destruction and more like a child with a cough and a sore throat. The option, of course, was quite simply not on the table, not with people who Vergil couldn't kill to keep the secret of Abaddon. And while with Yamato's dimension cut, the ship would have been little better than falling tinder, with just his own Infernal Energy and Derflinger, Vergil didn't have the range or power to cut it down.

A resounding _boom_ filled the air, followed by the whistling of a cannonball. Apparently a warning shot, judging by how nothing on the ship had shattered or snapped previous to the sound reaching their ears.

"Captain! She flies no nation's colors!" The look-out shouted.

"By the Founder's blessed arse, a pirate ship!"

"What the hell's going on!" Louise shouted, bursting out from below deck.

"Pirate ship." Vergil replied, motioning towards the rapidly approaching vessel on the starboard side.

"What, really?"

"Yes. They appear to be signaling our ship." Vergil paused, glancing at the captain.

"It's a signal for us to slow and allow for us to be boarded."

"Hmm. A simple matter to be dealt with." Vergil drew Derflinger.

"No!"

"…Why not?"

"They might be working for the Albion Royalty!"

"…you mean privateers?"

"Yes! And you can't slaughter them if they are!"

**_"Pffh. Killjoy."_**

"Very well." Vergil sighed, sheathing a similarly saddened Derflinger. "I shall delay their deaths until we can discover their allegiance." Derflinger shifted itself out of its scabbard a little, clacking open its 'mouth' at the girl.

"Little noble, this is just Dull! What am I supposed to do if Partner can't use me to slaughter the pirates?"

"Shut up."

"Hey! Some respect for the six thousand year-old sword please!" The scene was given only a passing glance from the now-depressed crew, the captain merely eyeing Derflinger and Louise while sighting.

"Here goes my fortune. Wrap sails, stop the ship."

– The Zero –

Louise observed as the ship pulled up alongside theirs, planks clanking down onto the _Windfall's_ deck and allowing a small horde of ill-dressed, dirty men to clamber onto the ship, making a horrid racket as they did so. The crew crowded around the Tristainian nobles, inadvertently hiding them from the initial search as the rogues ransacked the ship and gathered any of the stragglers onto the deck. One man, in a much cleaner shirt (which wasn't saying much, given the state of them) and with an eyepatch over his left eye approached the small crowd.

"Alrighty, where be the captain of this fine vessel!"

"H-here." The _Windfall's _ captain raised his hand, shaking rather apparently. The apparent leader took exaggerated strides towards the captain, pulling a saber that was remarkably well-kept compared to the rest of the pirate crew's accoutrements and holding its keen edge to the captain's face.

"We'll be taking your cargo then. Hope ye don't mind." The man plucked the captain's hat, settling it onto his head as his followers laughed. Louise then noticed Vergil stepping forward, shoving aside the _Windfall's_ crew to approach. Before any of the students or Wardes could stop him, the pirates had already taken notice of the tall white-haired man in expensive-looking clothes striding towards their leader, and the closest drew or brandished their weapons before moving towards Vergil. Louise only saw her familiar draw Derflinger, before the pirates' weapons shattered in their grasps and the men themselves were flung back with great force, some hitting the railing of the deck hard enough to crack it.

The rest of them froze, allowing Vergil to simply walk into their defensive circle and face their leader directly.

"I ask this only because my Master wishes me to: With which side are you affiliated?"

"…eh?"

"Are you affiliated with the royalty, the rebels or neither? Speak up!"

"What does it matter to you?"

"If you are one of the latter two, then I can kill you now and slaughter your fellows on your ship, and leave your corpses for the crew to toss overboard and your blood for them to scrub off the deck. If, however, you are affiliated with the Albion Royalty, then we may have a use for you that might convince me to allow you to live beyond this encounter." The pirates stood there and blinked for a second, before erupting into laughter again.

"Hah! And what makes you think you can kill all of us?"

**"Because, I can slaughter all of you with just my teeth and he can kill me rather easily."** A voice hissed, cutting through the air like winter's chill. The voice drew the gazes of all involved towards the bow of the _Windfall_, where several of the pirates laid, impaled to the deck by enormous spikes of ice, covered in frost and quite dead.

Among them stood a being unlike anything Louise had ever seen.

It was reptilian creature, standing a full head above Vergil on its hind legs, covered with gray-blue scales that in turn were armored with sheets of frost carved into imitations of plate armor, if designed for enormous lizard-people. A tail protruded from the middle of its back, lazily sweeping back and forth across the frost-rimmed deck.  
>The equipment of the being before them now was very elaborate. A shield it wore on its left arm looked like an actual kite shield, elegantly chiseled out of a block of clear, crystalline ice and with a five-headed dragon insignia carved into the front while twining serpents decorated the edge. The five elegant talons on its right hand were three-foot long curving blades that were they metal, could have been forged by a master blacksmith and weaponsmaster. A sort of cap on its skull had two horns that swept out from its temples for a few inches before curving down and forward to end with the tips alongside the Frost's mouth. Strangely, the center of the helm was cracked, and Louise could see a misshapen lump of metal stuck deep in it through the clear ice.<p>

And its body…it was covered in scars, wounds frozen in hoarfrost so that they stood whitened and apparent against the creature's greyish hide, even under the ice armor. Vergil stepped forward, moving through the crowd of metaphorically frozen pirates before standing in the midst of the literally frozen, a few feet from the creature.

The two stared at on another, until the beast bowed its head.

**"A pleasure to meet you, Son of Sparda."** It greeted, with a strangely soft voice with a hiss like a serpent. **"I am Gelus."**

"An Original Frost." Vergil stated, to the creature's nod. "One of the first to be bred, almost eight thousand years ago if I'm not mistaken." The gasps from the Halkeginians were ignored.

**"Indeed, my services to the Lords of Hell have been long. And here, I have found myself in a situation most strange."** Gelus rasped. **"I was sent by Zima to see what was keeping one of her Frost Wyverns from returning with his hunt. I found his corpse warming in the alleyways of the city below, and I tracked his slayer's scent and aura here, where I found more of this world's strange mortals…and a son of the Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda, one of the most powerful Devils of all time." **Again, gasps were ignored.** "I am also surprised to see you in the company of mortals once again, Vergil, considering how you dealt with them on Earth."** And as with the gasps, both ignored the nervous looks.

"I was summoned here to this world by this mage here." Vergil gestured to Louise. "Given what normally happens to summoned Demons, I refrained from slaying her." Gelus nodded.

**"I see."**

"What are your intentions here, Old One?"

** "Were Kaltem to have been slain by any of these 'mages', I would have slaughtered them in retribution and returned with their corpses to Mistress Zima to make up for Kaltem's lost hunt."** Gelus explained. **"However, I know well the power of Sparda, and have no desire to die after having outlived my brethren.** **Especially after escaping Mallet Island."**

"I thought you looked familiar. I'm surprised that you survived Dante though." Louise glanced curiously at Vergil. _Is this a memory I haven't seen yet?_

**"I very nearly didn't." **The…Frost said, tapping a talon on the cracked cap. **"Unlike the mongrels the Devil Lords breed these days though, I know how to recognize a lost cause, and how to play dead. I wonder however, Lord Sparda, where you were on the island?"**

"Nelo Angelo."

**"Ah. And now it is made clear why Mundus thought the Dark Angel could match a Son of Sparda."**

"Quite. Now I must ask again as to your intentions here, Gelus." Vergil stepped forward, raising Derflinger.

**"As I said before, I have no intention of dying here, not even for one of my old students."** Gelus hissed, not quite crouching and backing up. **"But I also have no intention of really betraying Zima. I think, instead, I shall retire to one of my lairs and observe the coming battle. No doubt you intend to slay her, and claim her soul for yourself."**

"You intend to hide?" Vergil actually looked somewhat astonished. "And here I thought the loyalty of Frosts was iron-clad."

**"That may be so for my foolish cousins, but I remember the Ways of Hell."** Gelus replied.** "Should you prove stronger than Zima, I shall offer my services, as I have to every Devil Lord that has slain the master previous to them. If you accept, I might be able to…convince the others of their foolishness. And perhaps this weak world may see the rise of a True Devil Lord worthy of the title."** Without another word, Gelus shivered, bursting into snow, with the cloud of frost wafting away towards Albion. The ship was silent for a moment, before the pirate leader spoke up.

"You know what? This shit is just too weird for me. I'm getting the Boss, he can deal with this!" And with that proclamation, he strode back towards his ship across the gangplanks.

– The Devil –

Vergil was contemplating Gelus' little declaration when the pirates 'Boss' arrived on the _Windfall's _deck. He was a man of rather average height, black curly hair on head and face, and yet another of those rather ridiculous eye-patches, yet on his right eye. In his hand, he held a scepter of modest size with a large sapphire decorating the top.

A mage. Apparently.

"I have heard some strange things from my men." The 'Boss' spoke, glancing towards where Vergil stood. "And I see that there is some evidence to support his story…"

"That is of no concern to me at the moment." Vergil said, moving to face the 'Boss'. "I pose the same question to you that I asked your man: What is your affiliation?" The 'Boss' studied Vergil, before asking him:

"Before I answer any such question, I must ask your affiliation here."

"He is my familiar!" Louise declared, shoving her way through the crowd to stand between the two men. The 'Boss' was stunned for a moment, switching his gaze back and forth between Vergil and Louise before bursting out into laughter.

"Oh! I knew Tristanians were strange, but not so helplessly! Hah! Oh, my poor stomach…"

"Answer my question."

"Ah, soon my amusing friend, but not here. On my ship. No, don't worry, I have no hostile intentions to either of you, or your companions back there." He nodded towards Wardes and the others. "In fact, why don't you all join me in my cabin while we discuss matters?" Looks were exchanged amongst the Tristainian nobles, while Vergil merely stood aloof. It didn't matter whether he started on their ship or the _Windfall_, they would die all the same if he decided to kill them. After some deliberation with the others, Louise and Wardes agreed to follow the pirate 'Boss', the man leading them onto his ship and to his rather roomy cabin.

_The benefits of leadership._

"Now, allow me to make up for my men's earlier rudeness by properly introducing myself." The man tugged away his hair and beard, taking off the eyepatch before sitting back in his chair. Now, he was a young man with blond hair, lighter than Guiche's. "I am the General of the Albion Royal Air Force, Commander of its one-ship fleet and Prince Wales Tudor of the Kingdom of Albion." Around him, all of the nobles gaped, only Vergil taking the revelation in stride. Really, it was quite logical. Disguising himself as a pirate, he could intercept the rebel's supplies and acquire his own before the rebellion's ships got their hands on it, all the while without revealing himself to be outside of the Royalty's stronghold.

They were silent for an entire minute, Louise's mouth opening and closing like a fish, before Wardes finally stepped forward for his fiancé.

"We come bearing a letter from her Highness, Princess Henrietta."

"Oh? From Henrietta? And you are?"

"Viscount Wardes, Captain of Her Highness' Griffin Knights. And this is my fiancé, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière." He motioned to Louise.

"I see." Wales nodded, then turned his attention to Vergil, who stood behind the small group. "And you, Sir Familiar?"

"Vergil. Son of Sparda."

"Yes, my men mentioned as much…I must ask about a curious scene they described to me, before we move on to further business."

"I was greeted by a Frost, a creature from my world."

"Your world?"

"Yes. I am not from Halkeginia."

"Interesting…and this Frost, it spoke? It mentioned someone, a…Zima?"

"It seems a minor infestation has taken root in your country. I was intending to take care of it upon our arrival, seeing as none of your forces would be able to take care of Zima and her brood."

"And why not?"

"It is not a battle ordinary men can fight."

"And what of you?"

"I am not an ordinary man."

"Hmm…indeed." Apparently, Wales was satisfied with this for the moment, and turned back to Louise and Wardes. "Now, this letter?" Louise pulled forth the relevant article from inside her cloak, but paused before handing it over.

"Excuse me, but I must be sure you are the prince." She said, bringing forth Henrietta's Water Ruby.

"Ah, of course." Wales brought his hand forth, a similar ruby ring on his finger. When the two were close, a rainbow sprang into existence between them. "This Wind Ruby of Albion's family, with Tristain's Water Ruby, make a rainbow together, as with water and wind in nature." Louise nodded.

"I apologize for my abrupt manners."

"No need, no need." Louise handed Wales the letter and bowed. After looking at the letter lovingly, Wales kissed the signature. Then, the seal was carefully removed, the paper inside was taken out, and Wales began to read. For some time he kept on reading it with serious expression.

"Is the princess marrying? That beautiful Henrietta. My beloved..."

Wardes bowed silently, with an affirmative expression. Wales dropped the glance to the letter again and smiled when the last line was read.

"Understood. The princess is informing me with this that she wants you to return that letter. And more importantly, the princess also hopes that I return a letter from her. Seems like it."

Louise's face beamed with pleasure.

"However, it's not in my hands right now. It's in the castle in Newcastle. I didn't want to bring the princess' letter to this pirate ship." Wales said laughingly.

"So, even though it's troublesome, please come with me to Newcastle." Vergil stepped forward.

"About Zima. It is important that I deal with her." Wales looked at Vergil, before nodding.

"Of course. We can stop at the harbor-"

"No need. Just simply pass over the location I give you, and I shall take care of the rest."

"…But, what about-"

"Zima and her minions will be far more trouble than any of your rebels."

"…Very well."

– The Author –

Sorry for the delay again, but in addition to my rediscovered Devil May Cry 4 game, I recently acquired an RPG of great interest. I played it the day after I posted the last chapter…and haven't stopped sobbing since.

Truly, Demon's Souls is a game worthy of the Trope: Nintendo Hard. I've only killed the Dragon God and the Penetrator and I've already died seventy-three times. Not counting my encounters with the Mind Flayers…eurgh. I have been able to keep my sanity through cartoons though, particularly Jackie Chan Adventures. Ah, good times…

…

And now I have the thought of a DMC/Jackie Chan crossover.

Uncle: ONE MORE THING!

*Thwack!*

Dante: OW!

Uncle: You should stop getting stabbed! Not good for the digestion!

Review Replies:

pyromania101: Mwahahahahahaha!  
>Eh, it's still in the planning stages.<p>

Orchamus: I had hopes when the idea of it being a prequel was still in the running…  
>Yes it was. In this case, I'm using the Dimension Slash from DMC4 rather than 3.<p>

Takeshi Yamato: And now they're getting a little Frosty…I'm sorry, that was bad.

Victoriousvillain: Sounds cool, but I'm trying to get Vergil to have a single weapon in every given 'category', and he already has Derf for swords.

asredwer: Only one ma in Yamato.  
>It will be a good fight.<p>

Lunatic Pandora1: You really like that line do you? Can't blame you though, it's good.

bakapervert: no problem.

scott pike: By my estimation, Vergil should be about as physically strong as Dante, so he's strong enough to swing around motorcycles. As for speed…the guy can teleport! I went with the Gandalfr runes providing a number rather than percentage bonus, so not all that much stronger or faster than Vergil's average.

drake202: The way I see it, his personality is already different from his DMC3 appearance, given both how DMC3 turned out and a decade of slavery under Mundus.

Altair: It was basically a toned down version of Yamato's dimension slash ability, specifically how it appeared in DMC4 with Dante's Dark Slayer Style.

Kojiro Kun: Thank you.

EVA-Saiyajin: Eh…I guess I kinda skimmed over that…well, it's not going to appear on-screen at this point…

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	12. The Blizzard

The Devil of Zero

**Disclaimer:** Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Blizzard

– The Devil –

**Air-Warship _Eagle_, Over Albion En Route to Newcastle  
>Afternoon<strong>

The wind was nice on Vergil's face, whipping through the spiky strands of his swept-back hair like an amorous succubus' fingers. The _Eagle_, apparently the Albion Royalty's last remaining ship, was headed due north-east away from their…rendezvous with the _Windfall_, now heavier by a dragon, a griffin, a giant mole and six more people. Well, five and a half and one-half of a devil. As Vergil was wont to do, he stood on the bow of the _Eagle_, which had one of the best forward vantage points, and scanned the floating continent below. To the common observer, he gazed in complete silence. However, Vergil's mind was filled with cacophony again.

He still wasn't quite sure how, but his experiment with Derflinger had given the sword a tactile telepathic ability. In addition to his loud, clanking mouth…hilt…thing, he could speak directly into the mind of whoever held him. And since Abaddon was a telepathic talker by nature, already connected to Vergil's mind…

**_"Bah, I don't know why I expected a mere sword like you to have any common sense!"_**

_"Hey, Abaddon, I think you should check your head, maybe your brains went to your butt!"_

**_"It's apparent that spears are obviously better if a sword like you can't come up with a good comeback."_**

_"Absolute trash! Unlike me, you'd break like a twig under a knight's boot if Vergil swung you too hard!"_

**_"As if a Devil Arm would break so easily! I think your talk is trying to compensate for something! Is the widdle sword jealous of big, long Abaddon?"_**

_"Moron! You're slower than I thought if you're trying to use that old insult. Now, swords like me, we're quick and have a rapier wit!"_

Thankfully for Vergil's now-fragile self-control, the conversation between the two weapons was stopped when he was approached from behind. Turning, he saw Wardes and Wales, the latter back in his pirate disguise, talking quietly while they walked towards Vergil. Trailing a short distance behind them was the rest of the Tristainian group, Guiche trying to get as close to Kirche as possible while Tabitha read as per usual. Louise was at the front, looking rather nervous.

"Ah! Sir Vergil!" Wales greeted, a warm smile peeking out from behind the fake beard. "We were just talking about you!" Vergil merely turned to face the prince fully and give him his undivided attention. "Ah, rather, we were talking about the situation this morning with that…Frost, did you call it? How appropriate…anyway, we were concerned about something it mentioned, about your father…" Vergil didn't bother to answer. That information could prove dangerous in the wrong hands, especially if any of the other Original Devils like Abaddon were brought here somehow…

"It's true." Louise blurted. Dead silence filled the air as they turned to gaze at her. Vergil, meanwhile, was forcing his hand back away from Derflinger's grip. "Vergil's father was a Devil known as Sparda, The Legendary Dark Knight." Again, Vergil had to keep himself from instinctively slaughtering the one spilling his secrets. They would have words after this mission. Many words. Some involving hovering, sharp, Summoned Swords.

"So…" Wales trailed off uncertainly. The stares had switched back to Vergil. The men had unanimously stepped back, Guiche pale and both Wardes and Wales eyeing Vergil with distrust. Kirche was actually eyeing him with greater interest, and had started playing with the neckline of her blouse, while Tabitha…just continued reading.

"He was a good guy though!" Louise said, elaborating. "He turned against his own kind to save Vergil's world!"

**_"Ah, to see Pride at work, so heartening." _**Abaddon sang. **_"After so long being a mockery, she revels in her magic having done something right, calling up you Young Sparda."_** And now Vergil knew that he really should have threatened her more.

"I see…" Wales righted himself, stepping forward again. "And this…Gelus, he was a Devil too?"

"No." Vergil replied. "He is an Original Frost, a species of Greater Demon bred to serve Devils as elite foot soldiers and bodyguards eight millennia ago in my world. They were powerful, but battlefield attrition combined with demonic interbreeding has diluted their power in their descendants, making modern Frosts much weaker than their ancestors." Vergil turned away from the group, gazing back towards Albion's land and searching. They were beginning to approach Zima's lair. "Why do you ask? It's not as if you'll ever fight a Frost, not after I finish with Zima."

"It is my business to know about all potential threats to my country." Wales shot back. "Even if it seems unlikely I shall rule it. Speaking of threats, what of you Vergil? From what Wardes has told me, this Gelus offered his allegiance and those of Zima's forces to you if you succeeded in killing her. Do I need to worry about Demons led by a half-Devil?"

"I've never sought power or influence in the realms of Mortals before." Vergil said. "And I seek no kingdom to rule. None of Halkeginia's nations need to fear me. Not unless they, to use my brother's terms, 'really piss me off'."

"Hmm." Wales contemplated Vergil. "You are an interesting person, Son of Sparda. I wonder if I will see what you become later on…"

At that moment, there was an explosion.

– The Zero –

Louise found herself falling. Bits of wood fell with her, seeming to float in mid-air or fall slowly from her view. She felt numb, before she suddenly realized that she was, in fact, falling rather rapidly towards Albion. Before she could shriek, a flash of white darted beneath her, and she fell straight into Wardes' lap.

"Viscount Wardes!" They were on his griffin familiar, flying down in a cloud of debris that was once the _Eagle's_ bow. "What happened?"

"The _Eagle _was attacked." Wardes explained, pointing up. "There was a rebel ship hiding in the clouds, and the look-out didn't see it until it was too late." Above, Louise could see the _Eagle_ being destroyed, bit by bit, as an enormous airship twice its size pounded it with cannon fire. The bow of the _Eagle _was completely gone, shattered into the pieces of wood that surrounded them.

"Where are the others?"

"Lady Tabitha has them on her dragon." Wardes pointed. Louise turned her head to see Sylphid with Tabitha, Kirche, Guiche and Prince Wales on its back, Verdandi held tight in the dragon's claws. Louise sighed in relief; at least she did before she realized something and froze.

"Where's Vergil!" Louise was desperately scanning for her familiar when Kirche waved and pointed down. Looking, she saw Vergil far, far down below them, ahead of even the smallest splinter of wreckage. "How in the Founder's name did he fall that far already? Never mind, we have to get him!" Sylphid was already diving fast like a falling arrow, its passengers hanging on tight. "Wardes, come on we have to get him!"

"My griffin can't carry him." Wardes explained coolly. "The only reason you're able to ride with me is you're so small and light. Miss Tabitha's dragon should be able to get him." Louise could only watch as Sylphid dove for the falling Vergil, getting closer and closer.

But they weren't able to reach him in time. Sylphid had to pull up or risk plowing itself and its passengers into the ground, and Vergil landed with a sick crunch. Louise had her hands to her mouth as they landed near him, leaping off of Wardes griffin and running towards Vergil's impact point.

And she found him standing as though he hadn't just fallen a few thousand feet down. He glanced around at the agape stares with a bored demeanor.

"We're going to have to find defensible ground." Vergil said, walking forward.

"What? Why?" In lieu of a spoken answer, the half-devil merely pointed up. Glancing up, they could see relatively small shapes coming out from the rebel warship, sweeping around the falling _Eagle's _wreckage and apparently searching for survivors.

Dragon Knights.

Before the group could move, the dragons dove down, their trajectory aimed right for the survivors. They circled as they descended, like carrion birds after a week-old corpse. The Knights on the dragons' backs held bows, drawing back arrows and aiming for the group of mages and familiars. They never got the chance to shoot though.

White and grey blurs smashed into the dragons in mid-flight, bringing the imposing reptiles down to the ground in an instant. The beasts that attacked the dragons were soon joined by others, tearing apart the winged reptiles and their riders into unrecognizable bloody chunks and quickly gulping the pieces down before turning towards the group they surrounded.

The creatures that had taken down the dragons were some strange cross between that Frost demon and dragons, while Frosts that were somehow more primitive than Gelus spread out to complete the encirclement. Rather than the kite shield and elegant talons Gelus had, these Frosts had a simple thick sheet of ice and four chipped icicle claws, and short, thin horns that were more like ears than anything else. The Frosts and dragon-Frosts left a rather large gap in their ring facing north, towards what Louise thought looked like a small blizzard steadily approaching.

And then Louise heard a dark, gleeful chuckle sounding from Vergil. The Frosts around…froze…and actually stepped back at the sound as Vergil stepped forward, facing the oncoming blizzard.

– The Devil –

"I figured that you'd be prepared for me." Vergil commented, walking forth confidently. "Although I'd rather hoped to still get the drop on you, but this will do." He sensed the others behind him gape as the blizzard drew even, the snowflakes drawing together and forming into an enormous form.

It was truly enormous, almost half as large as the _Windfall_. Large steel-colored scales armored a large eight-figure torso and four legs as thick around as a tree, with a tail twice as long as the torso waving behind, tipped with a ball of spikes. Vast wings that spread fifty feet tip-to-tip shadowed the entire area, while four lashing necks topped with enormous versions of Frost Wyvern heads maneuvered to allow the best vantage of Vergil for each one. A stump took the place of what would have been the fifth, primary head, an enormous wound sealed in a sheet of frost like Gelus' scars.

**"I've heard much about you, Son of Sparda."** Zima rumbled with a very, very slight feminine tone audible in the demonic rumbling and hissing. **"The Frosts I've summoned have told me many tales of you and your brother. I wonder just how much of them are exaggeration though."**

"Little enough for you to be concerned." Vergil replied, drawing Derflinger. "Now, let's begin." Zima certainly didn't waste any time, all four of her heads breathing clouds of snow that froze whatever they touched, all converging on Vergil. Vergil had already leaped up and Tricked forward, landing on the stump of Zima's fifth head and slicing into it with Derflinger. A hiss of pain escaped one of the heads as another bent around and tried to snatch Vergil off of Zima with its maw.

**"You'll pay for that!"** Her other heads shrieked, coiling around as the one currently assaulting Vergil struck forth like a cobra. Vergil merely leaped up, slicing at the throat of that head and landing atop it before stabbing straight down into the icy helm capping its skull. Unfortunately, the ice was too thick for Derflinger to penetrate all the way through it and Zima's skull. The head whipped about as Vergil withdrew Derflinger, sending the half-devil flying into the air. Zima snapped one of her wings towards him, ice encrusting it and forming a razor-sharp edge as it slashed at him. Vergil blocked the makeshift blade with Derflinger, propelled back towards Zima's back before he Tricked down onto it. Now two heads assaulted him, jaws snapping and trying to snag him. As he dodged, Vergil hacked and slashed at the scales covering Zima's body, doing little better than creasing the metallic plates as he dodged Zima's sharp teeth.

**"Pathetic!"** Zima used one of her heads as a whip, smacking the side of it into Vergil's body instead of trying to bit him as expected and sending him flying a dozen feet or more back towards his companions. Vergil rolled before standing back up, panting slightly as his broken ribs were reset and mended by his natural regeneration.

"You're going down." He promised, before tensing. Long ago when he had first discovered this ability, Vergil had likened it to the trigger of a gun, something that if you put enough force or energy into it would make a powerful reaction with devastating results. However, instead of the expected transformation, Vergil gasped and fell back to his knees as he felt agony. It felt as though he was under Mundus' torture again, his soul splitting apart…only where Mundus had made him feel as though the Prince of Hell was splintering his soul into thousands of pieces, Vergil now felt like it was distinctly split into three, one large and two small, for some reason.

**"What's the matter? Afraid?"**

Vergil grit his teeth and shook off the feeling though, abandoning his attempt to Devil Trigger. Despite how much he was opposed to the idea, with Derflinger unfortunately proving next to useless against Zima's hide and his strange inability to transform, Vergil would have to rely on Abaddon.

**_"Yes! Another battle in which to slaughter!"_** The spear crowed as Vergil sheathed Derflinger. Extending his right hand, Vergil summoned Abaddon, blood-red hellfire oozing out of reality to merge into the Spear of Destruction. Ignoring the shocked gasps from behind and twirling the spear about in his hand, Vergil leaped forward before stabbing Abaddon in the direction of Zima's closest head, a bolt of hellfire lancing out and exploding against it in a cloud of steam and smoke. A roar of agony ripped itself from Zima's many throats as the three other heads lashed about and breathed at Vergil again. Vergil whipped Abaddon about, streaming hellfire that collided with the clouds of snow and evaporated them instantly as he leaped up and Tricked at the head that was still recoiling from the hellfire bolt.

Landing adroitly on top of the head, Vergil took Abaddon in two hands and slashed the spear's blade across the ice-cap, the otherworldly ice melting and bubbling from the spear's heat. However, icicles stabbed out from around Vergil and would have impaled him if not for the blocking sweep of Abaddon. The ice-cap regenerated remarkably fast, forming back into a perfectly smooth surface where Abaddon had slashed even as more icicles tried to impale Vergil. Finally, the half-devil simply Summoned two sets of Spiraling Swords, the rapidly revolving rings of blades slicing away the deadly spikes of ice almost as soon as they formed. With the skull still closed off from assault, Vergil opted for another route, pouring Infernal Energy into Abaddon and making its blade flare with heat and hellfire, while Vergil ran for the edge of Zima's head. He dropped and slid off of it, one hand snapping into the ice with enough force to crack it and make a handhold as the rest of Vergil's body swung out before arcing down, Abaddon's point leading and stabbing into Zima's eye.

Another roar and the head lashed to try and dislodge the agonizing spear stuck in its eye. Vergil swung his body about and braced his feet on the eye-socket to wrench Abaddon free in gouts of steaming dark-blue blood before jumping off and falling for Zima's back again.

"It's time to finish this." Vergil muttered, Tricking onto Zima's back as her heads started to attack. The injured head struck first, biting for Vergil and missing as he leaped out, jumping off of a platform created out of Infernal Energy to land atop the head. Another head attempted the same, only for Vergil to react just as he did previously, except now the other two heads were attacking as well. A simple Trick up brought him out of the attack of the third head, but in line with the top jaw of the fourth. He kicked against the head's nose before it could reorient itself, ascending even higher above Zima, with all her heads lined up for a perfect shot. Vergil drew back the arm holding Abaddon, surging huge amounts of Infernal Energy into it.

**"NO!" **Zima cried.

**_"YES!"_** Was Abaddon's gleeful laughter as Vergil threw it. Unlike the explosion with Fouquet's golem, Abaddon focused the hellfire into a white-cored, blood-red lance of flames that pierced all four of Zima's heads and her back. The damage was astonishing, virtually vaporizing all of the heads and creating an enormous charred hole through Zima's back. Vergil landed adroitly before the corpse, bending his knees slightly to absorb the force of impact as Zima's body began to dissolve into a snowy blizzard again. Rather than dissipate, the howling snowstorm coiled around Vergil, temporarily hiding him from the sight of the others. When the snow blocking their sight faded away, the others gasped at what now adorned Vergil arms and legs.

White metal gauntlets and boots covered his from elbows forward and knees down, partly covered in what looked like pure, translucent blue ice that formed studs and spikes over the accoutrements.

"That...was…SWEET!" Derflinger exclaimed, just before a new, very feminine voice sounded in Vergil's head.

**_"Ah, I guess I can bear it, to be worn by one such as you."_**

**_"AGH! NO! This is my head, mine, you frozen bitch!"_**

**_"I believe it is Vergil's head, actually."_**

Before the voices in his head could get violent, Vergil twisted about, avoiding the swipe of four large icicle claws as a Frost Wyvern attacked. It didn't retract its arm before Vergil smashed the limb with a double-palm strike, the combination of his natural martial arts training and the Zima gauntlets' inherent power cracking the bone until it ruptured the Wyvern's flesh. A knee-strike snapped the creature's head up, where a rising dragon punch sent it flying, the knee-spike and studs in the gauntlet's knuckles carving divots in the Wyvern's throat. As the Wyvern's head fell back down, Vergil spun, bringing his right elbow and the spike protruding from it stabbing into the head, when thin but ridiculously long icicles shot out from the spike and through the Wyvern's skull.

Even as the Frost Wyvern fell dead, three Frosts leaped forward at Vergil from the front, icicle claws outstretched…before suddenly falling in three pieces each, head, torso and legs. Gelus approached from behind the fallen Frosts, inspecting Vergil and his new weapons before falling to one knee before him.

**"As I said, I now offer you my services, Lord Sparda." **The ring of Frosts and Frost Wyverns hesitated, before a cool, one-eyed stare from Gelus gave them a hint, and they too fell to their knees. **"We are at your command."**

**Devil Arm File: Zima, The Frozen Limbs**

A Russian Devil of ice and snow, Zima was once a Frost that terrorized numerous Siberian battlefields, ascending in the slaughter that was Stalingrad in World War II, taking the form of a Slavic dragon, a Five-Headed Aždaja. During an eclipse later in the war, she was torn from Earth and tossed into Halkeginia, Albion specifically, with a contingent of her lesser brethren. There, Zima spent her life terrorizing the dragon nests and devouring them, until an unfortunate encounter with a group of dragon hunters – including a mage with fire affinity – seriously wounded her, destroying her central head and slaying many of the Frosts that accompany her. While they died all the same, Zima has spent almost three decades recovering, feasting on those unfortunate enough to happen across her. Eventually though, she overhunted the area, leaving no prey left and forcing her to range wider in her hunt, until she encountered Vergil.

In the form of a Devil Arm, Zima is a set of apparently simple gauntlets and knee-length boots made out of very shiny white steel, yet covered in a translucent blue crystalline substance that protrudes in the form of short, thick spikes on the knuckles and the toe and heel of the boots, also turning the normally blunt fingertips into three-inch long claws. Crystal spikes of moderate length protrude directly out from both the elbows and the knees. Zima, as its origins as a Frost would indicate, has power over snow and ice, manifesting most obviously in a cold aura that wraps around its wielder. This power is more obvious when a strike from the wielder connects with the target, as Zima leeches the heat and life out of those it strikes, chilling them. By focusing Infernal Energy into the desired piece before striking, the effect of the heat leech can dramatically increase, even freezing the target's flesh down to the bone. Zima can also extend and fire supernaturally sharp icicles from the knuckles, claws, spikes or boot with enough force to penetrate even heavy steel tower shields and knight armor at point-blank range. As a defensive measure, the very air can be frozen into an unnaturally hard shield radiating from either the forearm or the palm as the wielder desires, capable of withstanding almost anything for a short duration, even resisting the infernal heat of Hellfire for a few seconds.

– The Author –

And now Zima is dealt with. I suppose I didn't give her all that much characterization, but here she's just being killed and turned into a Devil Arm, so I figured I could leave that to future chapters. Now, will Vergil accept or decline Gelus' offer?

Review Replies:

Takeshi Yamato: Pretty much.  
>Yeah, getting to Newcastle is going to be…interesting.<p>

Lizeth: Snerk.  
>You're welcome.<p>

Orchamus: Still planning, so Wales fate may or may not be death.

pyromania101: Obviously, there were…compatibility issues. I do have little romantic comedy skits planned for Zima though.  
>It joins many of my ideas in the 'interesting but not likely to live' folder.<p>

Lunatic Pandora1: Trust me, when he gets well-known, most of the simpler enemies will start fleeing. Not that that guarantees survival, of course…  
>No problem, I'm rather fond of that quote myself.<p>

bakapervet: No problem.

drake202: My most recent death was because some bastard wrote 'run straight ahead' right before a pitfall.  
>Yeah, the Dragon Age games are fun. I'm going through several playthroughs on II right now.<p>

Kogane1089: Pretty much.

Kojiro Kun: I trust this chapter had enough battle for you?

Imperial Warlord: Thank you.


	13. The Skirmish

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Skirmish

– The Zero –

**Newcastle, Albion  
>Night<strong>

Louise couldn't help but gaze out the window of her room at the Albion Royalist's base, Newcastle. Outside, beyond the walls, she could barely make out the lights of the rebel army, made of torches, lanterns and Flame Light spells, just about evenly distributed around Newcastle, unlike when they had first arrived and the lights had been dancing around like maddened fireflies in the evening, around a foreboding area of pitch-black through which Louise and the others had entered Newcastle. Louise remembered what had been done to create that zone of darkness, as well as what happened previously.

**Frost Demon Hunting Grounds  
>That Afternoon<strong>

The group moved quickly, surrounded on all sides while Vergil strode ahead with Gelus at his side. The Half-Devil and the Frost seemed to hit it off, what with how both were conversing quietly as they walked side-by-side. It had taken only a second for Vergil to accept Gelus' offer of allegiance, as well as the rest of the Frosts and Frost Wyverns, as they called themselves. Gelus had waved his clawed hand over his shield, and the emblem changed, the ice crackling like glass crushed underfoot, from the five-headed dragon that apparently symbolized Zima into a stylized V and S, with blades crossing over each to make an X-shape, the curved blade that Louise recognized as Vergil's blade starting from the V, and the claymore that was his father's from the S. Vergil nodded with approval when Gelus glanced to check before ordering him to gather all of the demons and get ready to march for Newcastle.

"These are all of the demons here." Gelus replied. The circle around the mages was comprised of about forty of Gelus' shorter, cruder descendants and maybe twelve of the Frost Wyverns.

"Very well." Vergil said. "Get them moving." Gelus nodded and then turned to start hissing at the Frosts and Wyverns. They still seemed reluctant to obey, although their gazes were notably switching between Vergil and the shattered remains of their four brethren who had tried to kill him. This lasted until Gelus flourished his claws, the five curving blades lengthening slightly and then returning to normal length, making an audible keening noise as they did so. That got them moving, satisfactorily so judging by Vergil's approving look. And just like that, they set off, the Frosts moving with a loping, lupine gait while the Wyverns' lithe movements were more like the dragons they were shaped like, feline in their stride. Sylphid and Wardes' griffin were made to walk as well, with Verdandi tunneling under and keeping up despite Louise's doubts when they started their mission.

It was about an hour into the journey before they were given an explanation why they weren't flying to Newcastle, and it was so obvious that Louise felt embarrassed she hadn't figured it out.

"We can't let the sentries of the army surrounding Newcastle to see us too soon." Vergil said, with Wales nodding despite himself. "We would lose the element of surprise, and they would be prepared to maul us the moment we came within range."

"Before we continue further," Wardes butted in rudely, grabbing Vergil by the shoulder. A smooth turn of the half-devil's head and a glare efficiently removed Wardes' hand, but failed to drive the Viscount off. "I have to ask, was that the Spear of Destruction you used against Zima?" Vergil glared hard at him before assuming a resigned look, his right hand stretching out and blood-red flames coming out of nowhere to coalesce into the fabled weapon. Louise noted the Frosts halt and take several steps away from Vergil suddenly, even Gelus slinking a short distance away.

"Hey! You said it was destroyed when you used it against Fouquet!" Louise exclaimed.

"Obviously, I _lied_." Vergil said with quite the caustic tone.

"B-but why!"

"First, because I doubt anyone who handled Abaddon would survive the experience for long," Vergil began, shaking the spear as he said that strange word, "And second, because I felt that it would be prudent to keep _some_ secrets to myself, justifiably as it turns out." He ended with a pointed glare at Louise.

"I-if this is about me telling them-"

"You are only the second person in my entire life that I have informed as to my nature and history of my own volition Louise." Vergil interrupted, "Considering my unique ancestry, I thought that you would have the discretion to refrain from sharing it so freely without my express consent." Louise bowed her head at this quiet, but passionate tirade. "I. Trusted. You." Louise looked up in surprise and dread, before she gulped audibly at Vergil's stony expression. "I shall not make this mistake in the near future." He finished, before turning on his heel and moving forward again. "Move out. I want to get to Newcastle by dusk." The Spear dissolved into falling sparks and cinders as Vergil strode forth, the Frosts and Wyverns relaxing and moving with him.

Louise and the other Halkeginians stood, shocked still by the coldness in Vergil's voice as the rear elements of the Frosts moved around them, following their new Lord.

– The Devil –

"You may have laid it on a little too thick Partner." Derflinger commented quietly, sticking his hilt out from the sheath.

**_"Bah. The little mortal needs to learn her place."_** Zima rebutted, despite her only having had an hour to learn about Vergil's experiences and actions in Halkeginia from both Abaddon and Deflinger. **_"Spilling his secrets like that!"_**

**_"It is true that the girl shouldn't have just blurted out something as important as Sparda's nature like that." _**Abaddon allowed. **_"The blame, however, also lays with Young Sparda for telling her in the first place, dream-visions or no."_**

"Enough." Vergil muttered, too low for Gelus to hear. "The past is done. What we need to focus on now is penetrating the siege and entering Newcastle. Gelus." Vergil waved the Original Frost closer, barely noting as the mages started following him again. "Send the stealthiest of the Frosts ahead to scout. No killing."

**"Aye my Lord.**" Gelus replied, before falling back and going around ordering the Frosts. Six of the reptilian demons moved quicker before evaporating and teleporting away.

It was a few more hours, the sun well on its way towards its western rest before the scouts reported back, a good thing as far as Vergil was concerned, because Guiche had started whining about half-an-hour ago, and the half-devil was starting to seriously consider finishing what he'd started in the duel.

The returned Frosts reported to Gelus instead of directly speaking to Vergil, something he didn't mind at all. It would be easier for him to delegate to Gelus, allowing him to focus on the big picture while Gelus issued the direct orders. Also, he wouldn't have to beat down every Frost he spoke to whenever he wanted something.

**"My lord, the scouts report the castle ahead besieged. An army, several dozen ranks deep, surrounds it, with small lookout posts further out. Each lookout has a small group of soldiers, led by one of these 'mages'." **As Gelus spoke, Vergil slowed his pace, letting the Halkeginians catch up.

:"Your input Wales?" Vergil asked the prince. The Crown Prince of Albion hesitated before throwing in his two cents.

"If they're following Albion military doctrine, then the lookouts are groups of common footsoldiers, mainly archers and the like, with a mage supporting. Usually, the preference is for wind mages that know farsight and distance speaking spells so they can keep an eye out and report back to their commander swiftly."

"I see. And if we eliminate the mages?"

"They'll use a runner."

"Too easy. Gelus."

**"My Lord?"**

"Send the scouts back out. This time, have them kill the look-outs. And tell the rest to get ready for combat."

**"With pleasure."**

– The Zero –

**Dusk**

In the hour that took them to the very edge of the besieging army, Louise had seen a change in the demons. The Frosts crouched lower in their stances, gaits growing longer and taking them farther away from the rest as the Wyverns took to the air. The reason for this was apparent.

They were going into battle.

"Is he insane!" Wardes demanded. "There's over ten thousand men here! He can't possibly expect to defeat them all!"

**"Not all." **Gelus hissed, unexpectedly appearing behind them and making pretty much all of them jump in surprise. **"Merely enough to secure passage to the castle. With the element of surprise, it should prove little trouble to carve through the siege."**

"Oh really?" Wardes had a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "And how does your master expect to get us into the castle?"

**"That is for him to know, and you to find out."** Gelus replied a bit smugly. **"Wales will be necessary though. Now, best prepare your combat magics. The fight begins…now."** Almost as if Gelus summoned them, screams of pain, terror and shock erupted from the small army ahead of them. Looking, Louise could see the pale figures of Frosts tearing through the rank-and-file soldiers, even as Wyverns skimmed through them, picking off whatever mages they found. The death they wrought was truly astonishing, as a single swipe of one Frost's claws could maim as many as four soldiers at once, and some of them preferred to hang back and fired barrages of razor-sharp icicles into the massed commoners. As she watched, one Frost leaped high into the air before crashing down and sending shards of ice shooting out to impale and freeze an entire squad of spearmen. Occasionally a Wyvern exhaled clouds of frost, turning swathes of the soldiers into little more than ice sculptures.

And yet, the devastation paled compared to the death Vergil sowed in his wake. Derflinger was out of his sheath, and Summoned Swords spiraled about the Son of Sparda's figure. Overkill was achieved with the gauntlets and boots that were made from the Devil Zima – something Louise was still coming to terms with – and every slash, punch or kicked from Vergil practically pulverized a soldier, either slicing them in two or crushing their armor into their chest cavity. The Halkeginians could only stand and gaze at the scene in mixed horror and astonishment. Blood was starting to pool, leaking freely from torn corpses and cooling around the feet of frozen men.

**"Move." **Gelus ordered, shoving Louise and Wales forward. A soldier ran away from the battle, wide-eyed and screaming. A flick of Gelus' talons eviscerated him, slashing the man from groin to sternum and spilling guts onto the ground. Louise actually retched a little, but thankfully didn't throw up as Gelus ushered his charges through the opening gap. Suddenly, Louise and the others were surrounded by the carnage, something created by a single man – no, a single Devil and a handful of Demons. Even as they moved forward, two Wyverns strafed the soldiers to either side of the group, creating a sort of corridor for them, preventing other soldiers from coming across their path even as a few Frosts slaughtered the last men in their path. Vergil awaited them, flicking Derflinger out and splattering the ground with the blood on the blade before sheathing it. As they reached him, he turned, smashing a fist into the castle wall. Ice traveled up the bricks, small handles forming in it as it went all the way to the top of the wall.

"You first Wales." Vergil ordered. The Prince didn't waste breath on complaints, grabbing onto the cold handholds and ascending as quickly as he could. Next in line, Wardes, scoffed and merely mounted his griffin. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Vergil warned.

"And why not?"

"Because a white griffin in a night sky is a pretty nice target for one of the jittery Royalist archers, now isn't it?" At that logic, Wardes grumbled and slid back off of his familiar before climbing.

"Ah, how are our familiars getting in?" Guiche asked.

"Verdandi can tunnel, can't she?" Vergil said. "Sylphid can fly, she doesn't stick out as much as Wardes' griffin, which can come up after Wales convinces the Royalists that he is himself. Now get up there." Trembling slightly at Vergil's tone, Guiche started climbing as well, rather clumsily though. However, when it came time for the girls to start climbing, they were surprised when Gelus scooped them all up, setting Louise and Tabitha on his large shoulders and Kirche around his neck before scrambling up the wall like a gecko. Looking back, Louise saw Vergil climbing so fast it seemed like he was running on all fours, the ice melting quickly behind him.

Reaching the wall ramparts, Louise saw Wales, Wardes and Guiche surrounded by soldiers bearing the regalia of the Albion Royalty. Wales was talking fast, which seemed to be all that was keeping them from impaling him and the others on spears. Somehow, Gelus deposited the girls without being noticed, even a Vergil vaulted over the wall's edge and landed right behind the soldiers. This, quite naturally, startled the soldiers, with the closest one stabbing at Vergil with his spear. Vergil quite simply redirected it with his hand so that instead of goring him in the stomach, it shot over his shoulder.

"I would like it if I could deliver your Crown Prince before you try and kill me."

**Present**

There had been…tension, to say the least, on the ramparts, at least until the seneschal was located and brought to truly recognize Wales and allow the soldiers to relax. Then it had been quite a bit of back-and-forth as they descended to be set upon by half the military leaders and tacticians in Newcastle, all wondering just how the hell they had managed to slaughter a good six hundred enemy soldiers and open a path to the castle. Vergil, fortunately, had an answer prepared in Tabitha, rather than revealing his secrets.

The most shocking event of the evening for Louise, however, had been when Wardes asked Wales to marry him and Louise in the castle chapel the next day.

– The Author –

It's short, and a bit of a cliff-hanger, but it's been awhile since I updated, and I've apparently started digging my grave deeper with yet another story.

Gods, I'm an idiot. At least I'm finally progressing with The Demon and The Dragon.

Review Replies:

VulpineSnow: I figured it was due time. We've had Fire with Ifrit (DMC1), Light with Beowulf (DMC3) and…weirdo, energy-flesh thing with Gilgamesh (DMC4) Why not ice?  
>I know, right?<p>

pyromania101: There is a reason he can't, and that will become clear in future chapters…  
>By now, they're wishing they wore brown pants. Or brought a spare diaper for Guiche.<p>

Takeshi Yamato: Oh yes, I'll be introducing a new segment later.

Orchamus: Kirche is a bit…lustful.  
>Heh, it's only going to get even more crowded.<p>

Kojiro Kun: Thank you.  
>Really? I thought it was rather brief and undescriptive…<br>Not really, just Devils and Demons.

drake202: Thank you.  
>All will be revealed in time…or you could go bug Velshard.<p>

code R.R.: That's a good point.

RoyalTwinFangs: Thank you, and sure.

LegendaryGamer: Thank you.  
>Mmmm…not quite.<p>

Lunatic Pandora1: …the who-what-now?  
>With great scorn.<p>

Imperial Warlord: Thank you.

bakapervert: You're welcome.

Havenoname: Thanks.  
>…there is a pattern, isn't there?<p>

Alternate Rouge: Thanks.  
>Sorry, but if I make them too long, I lose attention…and this way I update a little faster.<p>

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	14. The Wedding

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Wedding

– The Zero –

_"Vergil, Dante, run!"_

_Louise was catapulted into the nightmare without warning. Unlike previous times, Vergil's emotions were not so controlled as to be nigh-unnoticeable, no, now she felt his sheer unadulterated terror coursing through his body, as sure as the fear she had felt at Zima's appearance or the skirmish before Newcastle._

_Vergil was in a hall of some sort, the walls decorated with meaningless paintings. The perspective seemed different to Louise, before she noticed a white-haired boy standing next to Vergil, a dead-ringer for a younger Dante or Vergil, and realized that she was now viewing a part of his childhood for some reason. Down the hall, leaning against a wooden door was a woman with long blond hair and soft, beautiful features – that were twisted by a look of fear. Apparently, she was the one who had shouted at the start of this dream, and Vergil was obeying her, grabbing Dante by the elbow and dragging his twin back. _

_And then an enormous claw burst through the door, scraping by the woman's shoulder, tearing the garment she was wearing and slicing large cuts in her skin._

_"Go!" She shouted, drawing a white gun much like what Louise had seen Dante wielding in earlier dreams and pressing the barrel against the limb that was now scrabbling at the door frame before firing. The gunshots made the boys flinch even as Vergil continued to tug his twin along. The woman was backing away from the door now as whatever creature behind it screamed, drawing a black gun and firing it now as she dropped the white pistol. The door splintered and revealed a reptilian creature that Louise thought looked like a green Frost minus all the ice they were encrusted with._

_Vergil shoved Dante into a space adjoining the hall and spared him the memories of what happened next. Louise knew that what the younger Vergil saw this day, her familiar still remembered._

_Founder knew, she wouldn't forget the horrible images for a long time, if ever._

_As the scene played out, she heard the soft voice from previous dreams say:_

_"Power! Give me more power! Anything to protect her!"_

– The Devil –

**Newcastle  
>Dawn<strong>

**"The mortals outside the walls are fearful and apprehensive."** Gelus reported to Vergil, the two tucked away in a room inside the castle. **"Some of them have begun to desert…or rather, they attempted to do so."**

"I assume the Wyverns caught and killed them as soon as they were out of sight?" Vergil queried.

**"Yes."**

"Good. We can't have word of you and the other Demons getting out at this point, especially with some of my secrets already in the open."

**"And what of the other mortals? Shall I send for the assassins?"**

"No need. The students will keep quiet. Guiche is too afraid of me to let something slip even casually, and Kirche is too enamored to risk recklessly endangering me." Vergil explained. "The girl Tabitha seems to have the appropriate discretion to handle my secrets, although I'll want to keep an eye on her myself."

**"And the men?"**

"They could prove to be problems. Wales may keep quiet to try and keep on my good side for now, but he's a politician. His connection with Henrietta and by proxy, Louise may or may not keep him silent, but his concern for his subjects may make him see me as a risk to his nation, and try to deal with me accordingly. Wardes, on the other hand, might talk, especially about Abaddon. Keep a close eye on him." Vergil ordered.

**"As you command, My Lord."** Gelus bowed before leaping out of the open window and dissolving into a cloud of snow.

**_"Gelus always was such a good subordinate." _**Zima noted with a hint of fondness. **_"He was a good catch I managed to summon those two decades ago."_**

**_"He's competent; I'll give the Frosty bastard that." _** Abaddon grumbled. **_"On to more pressing matters, what are you going to do about Louise?"_** Vergil dropped his voice to a low mutter to answer.

"While I'm still her 'familiar', she'll continue to have dreams about my past every night. Thus far I've escaped her discovering anything potentially damaging to my reputation in her eyes, but I have to stay around her in order to control what she lets slip."

**_"Why don't you simply kill her then?" _**Zima asked. **_"If handling her is going to be this much trouble, it would be much easier to eliminate her and the rest."_**

"I'm not going to kill her." Vergil rebutted. "I have no idea what may happen to me if she dies, and I'm sure you're aware of the measures usually taken when summoning and contracting with a Demon or Devil to ensure their cooperation." There was a noticeable psychic pulse from Zima, something like the mental equivalent of a wince. "So I must continue with my present course of action, and in order to do such, I cannot antagonize the mortal authorities or allow them to learn too much about me."

**_"This is a risky course of action to take, Young Sparda."_** Abaddon noted.

_"He's right Partner."_ The unusually quiet Derflinger said. _"This could backfire spectacularly. Why not just tell the truth? It couldn't be that bad, could it?"_ Vergil couldn't help but chuckle.

"The truth is far worse than you would think Derflinger." Vergil said. And then, there was a banging on the door, a soldier of the Albion Royalists barging in. He barely managed to keep from skewering himself on Derflinger's blade when Vergil drew the sentient sword. The soldier didn't have time for a gulp before Vergil withdrew and sheathed the weapon.

"Yes?" The soldier stood stock-still for a moment before recollecting and assuming the rigid posture that all respectable militaries in any universe seemed to use.

"Sir Vergil, the Crown Prince requests your presence at a meeting of the military leaders."

**_"Oh, moving up in the world so quickly…" _**Zima's sly psychic voice whispered.

"Does he now?" Vergil said. "I might as well humor him. Lead me." The soldier nodded and about-faced, marching out of the room and through the halls of the castle with Vergil following just behind him. To Vergil, the last bastion of the Albion Royalists wasn't any different from any of the numerous similar fortresses he'd visited during his time on Earth, save cleaner and less bloodstained.

Something the rebels would be eager to rectify.

**_"What is it with humans that make them so stubborn?" _**Zima wondered. **_"Obviously, these 'rebels' are the stronger, so why not submit now and save themselves?"_**

**_"Zima, Zima, Zima," _**Abaddon rumbled in an amused tone. **_"You obviously don't understand how they think. The 'Royalty' and 'Nobility' of this world have convinced the 'Commoners' that their rule is 'sanctioned by God,'_** His mental voice was positively dripped with acidic sarcasm, **_"And they back it up with their magical powers. And with the common peons conned into believing this, the ruling family has secured their position through a 'Mandate by God', which means so long as there is a living heir, they rule. So, in order for the rebels to succeed, they have to kill everyone in the family._**

**_"…Humans are so unnecessarily complicated."_**

**_"Indeed they are."_** Vergil had nothing to say on the subject. He pretty much agreed with the two Devils. The soldier stopped before a door, knocking on it and announcing Vergil to the occupants before stepping aside. Behind the door was a room occupied by a table cluttered with maps surrounded by some of the officers that had questioned Vergil and the others upon their arrival at Newcastle. At the head of the table was Prince Wales, conferring quietly with the rest, until he looked up and saw Vergil.

"Sir Vergil, so good of you to join us!" He greeted, and unlike many of the Demon's who'd uttered nearly that same sentence in his past, Vergil thought the Prince sounded sincere. "We have an issue I hoped you'd be able to help us to resolve."

"Really? And this issue is?"

"Well, Newcastle has many innocent people in its walls, ones who can't fight and will suffer greatly when the rebels break through." Vergil noted that the officers around had resigned looks on their faces, acceptance of the given certainty that the rebels would succeed in their endeavor. "The original plan," Wales continued, "was to use the _Eagle_ to transport the non-combatants out of Newcastle through the secret dock…"

"But with the _Eagle_ destroyed, you have no way to get them out now." Vergil said.

"Yes. We have no way to evacuate them safely without a ship." Wales admitted. "But there is another option."

"And it's absolutely foolish!" One of the commanders snapped.

"We're planning to stage a breakout." Wales explained. "Open the main doors and engage the rebels in combat and opening a way through their encirclement so the civilians can get out safely. The problem with this plan is that the moment we open the doors, their mages are going to start blasting away with the strongest spells they have while their commoner soldiers fend off whatever number of our troops manage to get through."

"I see." Vergil looked at the maps, mostly those of Newcastle and the surrounding countryside. "You want me to take out their mages, and their commanders."

"The two are practically the same in the chain of command." Wales explained. "You proved admirably proficient in killing them during our…entrance."

**_"By which he means the Frosts and Wyverns can easily slaughter them."_** Zima dryly commented.

"It seems workable." Vergil allowed. "When shall we start?"

"The breakout attack will be launched as the sun sets." Wales said. "But before that, I have a wedding to preside over…speaking of which, will you be attending?"

"I'm not one for parties." Vergil rebuffed coldly, still studying the marked maps.

"I see…are you jealous?" Wales asked slyly. The commanders took this as the cue to leave, now that their Prince was discussing different matters.

"Of who? Wardes? Why would you think that?"

"Well, you and Louise-"

"Do not misunderstand our situation Wales. I owe Louise a debt of honor. Nothing more, nothing less."

**_"Methinks the Lord protest too much."_**

**_"You obviously don't know Young Sparda that well."_**

– The Zero –

**Newcastle Chapel  
>Noon<strong>

Crown Prince Wales was waiting for the bridegroom and the bride to appear. There were only a few other people attending, as everybody was busy preparing for the upcoming battle. Wales also had planned, once the ceremony was over, to prepare for the battle as well. He was dressed in the Crown Prince's formal uniform, wearing a bright purple mantle and a hat with seven colored wings, the symbols of Albion's royal family.

The doors opened, Louise and Wardes entering. Louise stood with a dazzled expression on her face so Wales had to urge her to come and stand in front of him.

Louise was puzzled. Everything happened so suddenly. Wardes had barged into her room and brought her here, without even waking her up properly. She was puzzled, because desperate feelings were swelling in her mind. She came here without thinking, still half-asleep. Because of the latest of the horrid nightmares and Vergil's attitude yesterday, she was very depressed. Wardes, after telling Louise that it was 'Time to do the wedding now,' put on a bridal veil borrowed from Albion's royal family on Louise's head. The veil was nicely made, and the flowers were eternally fresh due to magical enchantments, making it look indescribably beautiful. Then, Wardes removed Louise's black mantle and replaced it with a white one that was also borrowed from Albion's royal family. Only brides were allowed to wear it, as it was a mantle of a virgin.

However, even while being dressed up by Wardes' hands, Louise was still unresponsive. But Wardes understood Louise's mood as a sign of her affirmative will. Wardes and Louise stood up in front of Wales, who was standing below the image of the Founder Brimir, wearing his official uniform. Wardes, who himself was wearing his usual clothes and a magical mantle, bowed his head.

"Well then, let's start the ceremony." The Prince's voice reached Louise's ears. However, it sounded like a weak sound of a distant bell. Louise's mind was still lost in the fog of her own thoughts.

"Bridegroom, Viscount Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes. Do you take this girl as your wife, and swear to respect and love her in the name of the Founder Brimir?" Wardes nodded solemnly and grasped the cane with his left hand, holding it out in front of his chest.

"I swear." Wales looked at Louise and smiled encouragingly.

"Bride, the third daughter of the Duke de La Vallière, Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière…" Wales read the oath in a clear voice. Just then, Louise noticed that she was in the middle of a wedding ceremony. Her partner was the ever-reliable Wardes, for whom she once yearned. A marriage arranged by their fathers. Only now was her childish, absent-minded, distant future starting to turn into reality. And yet…something felt wrong. Something…'tickled', for lack of a better word, in the back of her mind.

_"Foolishness. Complete foolishness. Might controls everything. If you want them to stop making fun of you, grow stronger! Gain power through whatever means you can."_

Louise had originally been betrothed because of her lack of magic…but by summoning Vergil, she proved that she had magic. And she wanted…no, needed to get more…to become more powerful…stronger…and how would she ever accomplish that if she was tied down by Wardes? If she was to be kept at his estate as his wife, bearing and raising his children and managing his accounts?

"Louise?" Wales' voice brought her out of her internal musings. Everyone was looking at her. "Are you alright? If you're nervous, that's fine, it's normal to be nervous at such an important juncture in your life." Wales smiled supportively at her. "Oh dear, we still have to hold the etiquette. This marriage would have meaning only if we are to follow etiquette. Then, let me repeat. Do you take this man as your husband, and swear to respect and love him in the name of the Founder Brimir?"

Louise realized. She shouldn't hesitate with the answer, waiting for someone to tell her what to do.

She had to make decisions for herself.

Determined, Louise took a deep, deep breath…and shook her head.

"Louise!" The two men chorused, Wales and Wardes. She looked at Wardes with a sad expression on her face and once again shook her head.

"By all means, Louise. Are you feeling bad?"

"No, that's not it. I am sorry…"

"If today is bad, then another time…"

"That's not it, that's not it. I'm sorry Wardes, I cannot marry you." Wales looked doubtful at the sudden change of events.

"Louise, this is not the marriage you want?"

"Yes, that's how it is. I want to apologize to both of you for my rudeness. It's a painful decision to make, but I do not want to marry." An angry red flush quickly spread on Wardes face. Wales turned to him

"Viscount, I am terribly sorry, but the bride doesn't want for this ceremony to continue." He said in a regretful voice. However, Wardes didn't pay any attention to Wales, and took Louise's hand.

"You are just nervous. Dear Louise. You cannot be seriously refusing my offer."

"I'm sorry, Wardes. I yearned for you. Maybe… maybe even loved you once. However, it is different now."

Then, Wardes gripped Louise's shoulder. The expression in his eyes changed. Gone was the usual kindness from his face, replaced with a cold, chilly and somehow reptilian expression, like a fraction of one of Vergil's Frosts had been imbued into Wardes' face.

"The world, Louise! I will rule the world! You are necessary for that!" Wardes shouted in a feverish tone. Frightened by the sudden change in Wardes, Louise kept on shaking her head.

"…I, I am not needed for that."

Wardes extended both his hands, drawing Louise closer.

"You are necessary for me! Your ability! Your power!" This Wardes was frightening Louise more and more. Not even in her wildest dreams did she imagine the gentle Wardes frowning or shouting like this. Louise tried to turn away. "Louise, have you forgotten what I once told you! You are not inferior to even the Founder Brimir, you will grow up as an excellent mage some day! You just do not know about it yet! That talent!"

"Wardes, you…"

Louise's voice was trembling with fear. It was not the Wardes that Louise knew. What had changed him into such a person? Could this really be just from her refusal to marry? And this power that Wardes talked about…what did he mean? Vergil had spoken of gaining power…but Wardes spoke as if she already had power…which just couldn't be…

Wales, who couldn't stand Wardes' threatening attitude towards Louise any longer, stepped in.

"Viscount…, that's enough. Behave like a gentlem-"

However, Wardes struck away Wales' extended hand.

"Shut up!"

Wales stood still, surprised by Wardes' words. Wardes clasped Louise's hand with his and she felt as if it was a cold, steel manacle clamping down on her.

"Louise! You are necessary for me!"

"I don't have any talent as a mage." _Not yet…_

"I told you many times already! You are just not aware of your power, Louise!" Louise tried to shake off Wardes' hand, but the incredible strength with which he held on prevented it. Grimacing in pain, Louise shouted.

"I would rather die than marry you. I understand now, you never loved me!" Louise raged. Wales put a hand on Wardes' shoulder, trying to pull him away, but Wardes pushed Wales instead, who fell to the ground. Wales' face turned red, and righted himself, standing up and drawing his cane on the Viscount.

"Such rudeness! It's an insult! Viscount, move your hands away from la Vallière right now! Or else my magical blade will tear you apart!" Only then did Wardes' hand finally let Louise go. A smile spread across his face. However, it was a mockery, a falsehood of any real heartfelt smile, twisted into something cruel and evil.

"Even if I ask you this way you won't do it? My Louise?"

"No, there is no doubt left that you are not the one whom I would ever marry." Louise spoke, while trembling from anger. Wardes looked up at the ceiling.

"And I made such great efforts, to capture your feelings during this journey…" Wardes spread his hands widely, throwing his head backwards. "Well, it can't be helped. I guess I will have to give up on this objective."

"Objective?" Louise looked doubtful. What was he thinking about? The corners of Wardes' lips went up, forming an ill looking smile.

"That's right. There were three objectives for me to achieve during this travel. Sadly, I achieved only two of them."

"Achieve? Two? What are you talking about?" Louise asked, feeling uneasy shivers travel down her spine. Her mind was working at full power, trying to figure out what was happening.

"First one was you, Louise. I had to get you. However, it seems that I won't be able to accomplish that." Wardes extended one finger.

"Obviously not!"

Wardes smiled, putting up another finger.

"The second goal, Louise, is in your pocket - Henrietta's letter."

Louise was startled.

"Wardes, you…"

"And, the third…" The people around all drew weapons, one person coming up behind Wales with a wand extended. "Is Crown Prince Wales' life!"

But then a crackling sound interrupted the proceedings, drawing everyone's gaze to the doors. Ice was sprouting from the wooden doors, cracking apart the formidable structures…and then a burst of crimson preceded the complete shattering and annihilation of their center, as a familiar black spear spewing scarlet flames flew down the aisle, between Wardes and Louise and over Wales' shoulder before striking the wand-wielding assailant, driving him back until he was pinned to the wall underneath the portrait of Brimir. As the man was stuck there, howling in agony, the spear reverberated.

**"Finally, a chance to feast!"** A voice crowed, and the bloody flames sprang to life around the pinned victim, and his screams ascended to a new level of agony. The cries continued for six long seconds, until finally the man was consumed completely, ashes falling from around the Spear of Destruction. Those present could only stare in horror as the spear dissolved into flames and raced back towards the door, before reforming in the hand of a particular familiar.

– The Devil –

Vergil stood in the frozen wreckage of the chapel's doors for a moment, clutching Abaddon in his left hand while the right, encased in one of the Zima Gauntlets, clenched into a fist around Derflinger's grip.

"How despicable…" Vergil veritably growled, striding forward down the aisle. "To deceive Louise like that and take advantage of her…" The crowd of traitors woke up from their terror-induced stupor, shouting and charging…until Frosts appeared before them, led by Gelus and tearing into the infiltrator's ranks. Vergil proceeded untouched by the carnage, walking steadily towards Wardes. "I am bound by oath to defend Louise…but I shall take great pleasure in destroying such scum like you Wardes."

"You think you can take me!" Wardes sneered. "I have your measure, Familiar of _Zero_!" The Viscount spoke the title with venom, apparently well aware of what _Zero_ meant to Louise. "Now die!" A sweep of his spell-blade sent a crescent of wind, one far faster than any Vergil had yet witnessed, at the half-devil…who simple blocked it with Abaddon, a surge of bloody Hellfire engulfing the sharp gust.

"I am not playing with you here, as I was in that duel Wardes." Vergil said coldly. "Know that the moment I stepped into this chapel -" He disappeared – And reappeared behind Wardes, sheathing Derflinger.

"- You were already dead."

Wardes turned with a shocked expression beginning to form on his face…before his head quite simply fell off, rolling down the aisle among the carnage that the demons left of his allies as his corpse toppled onto the steps that led to the dais, blood trickling from the stump of his neck.

– The Author –

Well, you guys asked and I delivered. Wardes is dead. Now, I'm sure you had hoped his end would be brutal, bloody and long…but I find that I like killing him this way. It says quite simply, that Wardes was beneath Vergil's notice, not worth his time, and didn't even bother the Son of Sparda. It says that he wasn't as important as he thought he was, something he's sure to carry with him in whatever afterlife he goes to, considering his ambitions. And I think it was memorable. I mean, he didn't explode into blood and gore, but…

Review Replies:

EVA-Saiyajin: Oh yes he most certainly can.  
>Will do.<p>

bakapervert: You're welcome.

Takeshi Yamato: Pretty much.  
>That's nice to know, although I can't wait until I can write a longer and much more satisfying combat scene.<p>

pyromania101: Here you go!

Orchamus: Maybe. I get the feeling that any interaction between them would be more like a simple companionable silence. Outwardly they're rather similar.

asredwer: Thank you.  
>No, it's not the runes. I'll give a hint: what part of himself is Vergil missing? Something he's had with him for a long time?<p>

VulpineSnow: Hmmm….  
>Heh.<p>

drake202: Thank you.  
>She might…<p>

scott pike: Stuff.

Kojiro Kun: Thank you.

panda-kun77: Welcome on board, watch out for icebergs.  
>Thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far and hope you'll like the rest of the story as well.<p>

code R.R: The second theory is a little closer than the other one…

Imperial Warlord: Thank you.

Lunatic Pandora1: We'll see.  
>…what<p>

Jin Dante Kazama: Thank you.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	15. Omake

Omake

The Lord of the Rings: The Red Hunter

Disclaimer: Neither The Lord of the Rings nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

"If by my life or death I can protect you," Aragorn pledged, "I will." The Ranger strode up to the hobbit, kneeling so that their faces were equal, taking one of his hands. "You have my sword.

"And you have my bow." One of the elves said, joining the Ranger, the hobbit and the grey wizard in the center of the circle around them.

"And my axe." The dwarf Gimli promised, also joining them.

"And my sword." An unknown voice called out. The Council looked about, before suddenly a truly enormous black blade shot down out of the sky to stab right in front of the group that was forming about the hobbit. A mere second later, a strange white-haired Man in a red coat of some sort landed atop its hilt, standing adroitly with such balance that not even elves could match before dropping down, drawing the sword out of the stone ground and holstering it in some sort of harness on his back. "And my handguns." He continued, drawing and flourishing a pair of some strange metal items, one black and one white. "And my tri-section nunchaku. And my electric guitar. And my kick-ass glowing light gauntlet-and-greaves set. And my fire-and-wind scimitars. And my shotguns, my .50-caliber anti-materiel rifle, and the grenade launcher. My needlegun. And my lightning sword, my fire gauntlets. This nice set of really cool armor that I got from Fortuna. Oh, and this awesome blade-spamming backpack."

"…That's quite the arsenal you bring with you sir." One of the other humans, a Boromir from Gondor, said sarcastically. "And pray tell how you intend to lug this about?"

"Oh, I got it all right here." The red-clad man said cheerily, before starting to pull an impossible amount of items from inside his coat. Pretty soon, the ground was covered in an assortment of deadly-looking items, from sets of gauntlets and greaves, to some strange metal things that looked like tubular crossbows without the bows. The Council, for the most part, were agape in awe. "Now, I got like three sets of gauntlets and greaves, so I suppose I can lend you guys some."

"Master Dante, this is…" Gandalf, apparently the reason for the man being there, started before he got interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, I don't suppose on the way to this 'Mordor' place we could make a short detour to this place called 'Moria'? Your boss Eru, this 'Ill Avatar' guy, wants me to get rid of some sort of pest or whatever that's set up shop there, something called a…" Dante frowned, fishing about in one of the pockets of his coat before withdrawing a small sheet of parchment. "A…Balrog?"

**Moria  
>A week or so later<strong>

"What are you doing!" Gandalf shouted back at Dante. The red-coated Devil Hunter wasn't fleeing with them. Quite the opposite, he was standing and glancing towards the ominous light that was approaching them.

"Doing your boss a favor!" Dante shouted back. The source of the light appeared then, moving between the pillars of the Dwarrowdelf. Moments later, the Balrog, a creature of darkness wreathed in shadow and flame, appeared in plain sight, moving towards the Fellowship with all the speed its form could grant it.

"Heh, this should be fun." Dante grinned, drawing his huge sword, Rebellion, from his back.

**Five minutes, twenty-one seconds later**

The Goblin horde, sure that the intruders had been slain by the creature that they feared and followed, moved towards where the Balrog's darkness had been before dissipating, hoping to recover scraps from the Fellowship's corpses. Instead, they found the Fellowship gathered about the head of Durin's Bane, atop which sat a human in red with a sword that was as long as he was tall stabbed into the Balrog's head, right between the horns.

"Oh look." Dante said with a wide, gleeful grin. "Company." He drew Rebellion from the Balrog with a sickening keen, flipping the enormous blade about and pointing at the closest Goblin. "How's about a party then?" The Goblins took one look at him and the Balrog's body before turning and scrambling back up the pillars and into their holes.

- The Devil -

It is my deepest sorrow to report that Knightmare Gundam of Ni, the author of this pathetic story, has died and gone to Hell. There, he is tormented hourly by **_Diablo the Third,_** even as he fights in the Third Battlefield. Translation: He's playing both the Diablo 3 Beta and the Battlefield 3 Beta. Be glad I cared enough to upload this Omake for the lazy bastard.

- Vergil


	16. The Escape

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Escape

– The Zero –

**Newcastle Chapel  
>Afternoon<strong>

The chapel was, to put it frankly, a mess. There was blood pooling on the floor and bits of bodies scattered all about. The latter part would be cleared up quickly, given how the Frosts were going around plucking the pieces off of the floor and gulping them down.

At the dais, Wales and Louise were still rather stunned. The former, because somehow the rebels had managed to sneak in about fifty or so people all set to assassinate him when Wardes, a noble from a foreign nation, gave the signal, which altogether didn't mean good things for his fortress's security. The latter, because her childhood crush and romance, her betrothed partner and one of her idols had turned out to be a traitor to the crown and had tried to turn her into some sort of tool for world domination, as ridiculous as that sounded!

Even as the two dealt with their shock, Vergil stood aloof over the corpse of Wardes. The half-devil familiar didn't seem at all disturbed by the carnage that desecrated the chapel…which wasn't all too surprising given what Louise had seen of his past. Especially the most recent one…

"Are you alright?" Vergil shook Louise lightly, enough to get her out of the shocked trance and answer.

"Y-yeah…I'm…I'm fine…" Louise lied. Vergil gave what passed for a concerned glance from him before nodding and reaching down, grabbing Wardes' corpse by the leg and dragging it towards the center of the room. Wales and Louise followed him with their eyes, not comprehending what was going on as Gelus fetched Wardes' head and a few of the more intact corpses left by the Frosts. The Original Frost had pulled the red (and red-stained) carpet aside and was carving designs unlike any other Louise had seen into the stone with his talons. By the time Vergil reached it with Wardes' body, Louise could definitely tell it was a magic circle of some sort, but its purpose was definitely unclear to her…and Wales as well, judging by his perplexed expression.

Vergil unceremoniously tossed the headless corpse into the center of the growing carving, and when Gelus was done, the Frost rested the traitor's head in more-or-less its proper place. Then, casual as can be, the demon started lopping off body parts on the corpses he'd brought over and pouring the blood from the stumps into the carved magic circle. The two remaining humans gaped in horror and disgust as the circle became a bloody red imprint on the sacred floor of the chapel. Whatever the demon and half-devil were doing, it was a desecration of the chapel's sanctity.

Yet, neither could bring themselves to care too much about it. After all, the wedding-to-be was already perverted by Wardes' actions and intent. Surely Vergil couldn't do anything worse than that.

They were proven oh-so wrong when he began to chant. Foreign words the likes they'd never heard, never even conceived could exist, that warped and twisted the fabric of reality themselves in ways that were fouler than anything they'd witnessed, started spilling from Vergil's lips. The circle started to glow then, an ominous red from the blood before some sort of mist of blue energy emanated from Vergil and combined with the glow, creating an ominous purple color that started focusing on Wardes' body. The glowing mist surged into and through Wardes' body before rising and forming into a shape.

Louise and Wales gasped as what seemed to be Wardes' ghost coalesced before Vergil…with its head back on backwards.

"Gelus." Vergil sighed. "Correct his head." The Frost appeared sheepish as his talons reached out, gently clenched the corpse-Wardes' head and twisted it about to match the orientation of his body, the ghost-Wardes' head matching it to face Vergil.

_"What is this!"_ The spirit thundered. _"What have you done to me devil!"_ Wardes' voice was different. It still had the same tone, same sound, but it was something that was felt rather than heard, almost…resonating, within the listeners.

"Quite simply, I've summoned your soul from the afterlife." Vergil succinctly explained. "I wasn't sure it would work, considering that I've yet to see the cycle of this world's afterlife, but it seems to be similar enough in principle to allow me to use the Sorcery necessary. Now, I believe you have some questions to answer."

_"And what makes you think I will give you anything? You killed me!"_ Wardes growled, fixing Vergil with a glare that would have been frightening in life, but was absolutely horrible in his present circumstances. Vergil only replied with a chuckle, and then stabbed the Spear of Destruction into the corpse-Wardes' leg. Flames sprouted out of the same leg on the ghost-Wardes, ethereally burning the limb in what was obviously an agonizing experience from the way he reacted. Which, simply, was screaming and twisting around in mid-air.

"I believe that example should suffice." Vergil actually had a bit of a light-hearted undertone to his normally neutral voice, something that actually made the whole situation even worse. Whatever it was, it caused Wardes, a man who in life had been trained to resist magical and non-magical interrogation, to immediately nod in agreement. "Good. Now, who were you working for?"

_"Reconquista."_ Wardes replied immediately, eyeing the Spear of Destruction_. "An organization that feels that the rulers of the kingdoms are weak, and wish to conquer all of them to in turn use their combined armies to regain the Holy Land from the elves."_

**"Oooh, a Crusade!"** The Spear of Destruction reverberated, somehow speaking. **"I love when humans Crusade!"**

**"You've obviously never experienced a World War." **And now, the gauntlets were speaking.

"I now know how Dante felt when he had Agni and Rudra." Vergil said. "And when did you guys learn how to speak?"

**"Spend a few decades as a weapon being man-handled by every incompetent mortal, and see how long you last without wanting to figure out a way to yell at them." **The Spear growled. **"As for her…well, she stole the technique from me."**

**"Why didn't you just eat them?"**

**"How do you think I got locked in that vault?"**

"Shut up." Vergil hissed. "Now, Wardes, was that you with Fouquet in the hotel?"

_"Yes."_

"W-w-wait a minute!" Louise interrupted. "How can that be? You were with us when the bandits were attacking the inn!"

_"I used a spell to create a clone."_ Wardes explained grudgingly. _"A triangle-level wind spell, Lightning Clone, which allowed me to both direct Fouquet and appear with Louise and the others to cement my alibi."_

"Clever." Vergil approved. "A pity you ruined all that effort with your impatience here." Both Wardes' ghost and the two Halkeginian nobles looked rather askance at that. "What were your plans here?"

_"I was to kill Wales and retrieve the letter that Henrietta sent to him." _Wardes said. _"Thereafter, I would sabotage the defenses; kill as many of the Royalist's mages as possible and take control of the gates with the other infiltrators, letting in the Reconquista army outside."_

"That seems simple enough." Vergil mused. "And it explains why they've been sending off a part of their forces."

"What?" Wales asked, a little confused.

"Gelus reported back an hour ago from his scouting of the rebel army." Vergil explained. "They were splitting off large parts of their forces and sending them away. Something I find incredibly foolish given a few of their number are already deserting. Perhaps you could explain why, Wardes." The ghost of the traitor hesitated momentarily, at least until Vergil raised the Spear again and motioned as though to stab Wardes' corpse again. The ghost flinched, and started spouting his answer.

_"We believed that the defenders would be too disorganized over Wales' death, that it would be easy to overwhelm them even with diminished numbers once their mages and commanders were disposed of."_ The spirit gritted out. _"In the interest of time and preparation, Reconquista's leaders decided to send some of the army off to secure the rest of Albion in preparation for the next phase of the plan."_

"And that is?" Vergil demanded coolly.

_"The conquest of Tristain."_ This response drew a gasp from Louise and Wales, while Vergil merely nodded.

"And thus do the pieces fall into place." He muttered.

_"If I have satisfied you, then release me from this spell!"_ Wardes thundered, his ghostly form wavering.

"Oh no, no…you don't get off that easy." Vergil said, with a cruel smirk. Stepping forward and into the circle, he stabbed the Spear into the heart of the corpse-Wardes. Ethereal flames sprung back into existence, this time completely engulfing the ghost-Wardes, even as the Spear ignited the corpse-Wardes in bloody red fire. The screams were too horrible to describe, and thankfully faded with the ghost as the corpse was rendered into a very fine black ash. "Make it last. Make him suffer." Vergil ordered tersely, before the spear dissolved into embers and the gauntlets and greaves vanished in small flurries of frost, leaving Derflinger in the half-devil's left hand.

The two Halkeginians would have stood there agape for a long time, except that Vergil had other plans.

"Come." He ordered, walking to the chapel doors, scattering Wardes' ashes as he did.

– The Doomed –

**Newcastle Gates  
>Dusk<strong>

The Reconquista Army was nervous.

One wouldn't know it by studying their mage-commanders, each and every one from the square-class General to the dot-class Lieutenants boasting about their impending victory over the too-trusting, foolish Royalists. They were blinded by their ego and self-assured greatness, though, not like the commoner masses that they had roped into their little gambit. The normal soldiers, with their shields and swords and spears, had already been nervous when they had an entire army with them, something all too logical given the complete devastation that had been visited upon a select division of their comrades. Now though, with a great number of them sent away to other parts of the nation, they were to the point some of them had wished they had brown trousers to hide the coming stains.

The mages were boasting about their leader's ingenuity, managing to hide agents in Newcastle. That really didn't matter for the rank-and-file though, since either way they were going to be pushed into the fray as fodder one way or another.

Then, it started.

Newcastle's gates groaned, opening. The mage-commanders grew ecstatic, ordering their troops forward. The troops never did carry out that command.

Mainly because, as soon as the gates were cracked open, a spear launched out from behind the doors, turned into some sort of magical missile that exploded into an inferno the moment it landed amongst the ranks, immolating them and outright converting the closest into ash that was soon enough fused into an unsettling black glass. Quite naturally, given the circumstances, the army dissolved into chaos. The mages attempted to restore order, but that effort was quickly curtailed the moment one of the triangle-class mages were impaled by an enormous icicle, that came from behind the army.

Creatures of nightmarish ice bolted through the army, slaughtering soldiers left and right as they headed for their true targets, the mages and commanders of the army. The mages were slow to react, mainly because the creatures were so fast, and never approached a single mage with less than three of them attacking from different directions. The situation became even worse once enormous winged versions of the beasts began to attack from the air!

It was virtually impossible for the mages to counterattack. If they focused in any one direction, the creatures in the other directions struck faster than snakes, killing the mage and then darting away to regroup and target another mage. Altogether, this meant the Reconquista army was completely unprepared when Newcastle's gates were wide-open, allowing the Royalists' forces to attack. Their mages led with spells of fire, wind, water and earth that devastated the ranks before their own commoner troops surged forward. Leading the mundane soldiers was a tall pale man with white hair, dressed in a brilliant blue coat with armor on his limbs. He wielded a sword, shining bright even as it was covered in the blood of men. This man displayed abilities beyond any mage they had seen in the command of ice. Icicles shot from his gauntlets and whenever he stomped, he flash-froze the feet of the men around him to the ground, making them easy pickings for the Royalists.

It didn't take long for the survivors of the previous day's assault to recognize him and the Demons he led, for them to break and flee en masse. Soon enough, the Reconquista's army was split apart, creating a corridor through which many trapped in Newcastle escaped.

When that crowd left, however, so too did the Demons. Without them harrying the surviving mages and instilling terror in the commoners, the remaining officers restored control, and met the Royalists' remaining troops man-to-man. Slowly, the Royalist forces where whittled down, until they fell in a last stand that would be worthy of the legends, if Reconquista ever let out the events of the day.

They wouldn't realize it for days afterward, but neither the blue-coated man nor the Prince they had fought to see slain was among the fallen Royalists.

**Sorcery File: Summon Spirit**

One of the most reviled and evil spells in all of history, Summon Spirit has existed in one form or another practically since Hell and Earth interacted. While the specific objective of the spell has varied in its many forms, the general remains the same: to summon the soul of someone who has died. The basic requirements for the spell are simple, a summoning circle typical for a low-level spiritual entity and a part of the person intended for summoning as a reagent, as well of course the Infernal Energy needed to power the spell. Generally, its better if the person is freshly dead, as the state and coherency of the soul tends to decrease after cessation of life, albeit for unknown reasons considering that no one really knows anything of the afterlife beyond the ultimate destinations. The use of the spell differs depending on the culture of the caster, for example, in some South American and African cultures, the spell is used as part of an empowerment ritual that generally relies on consumption of the reagent, while in mainland Europe it was used more to question the summoned soul for information.

– The Author –

Right, well, sorry about that Omake, but I just wanted you guys to know I wasn't dead, just occupied by other matters. To make clear Wardes fate right now, he's pretty much Abaddon and Zima's plaything, probably for the next hundred years or so.

Today, I gotta say I'm really looking forward to the launch of Gundam AGE. It may be kiddy, but I'll be happy even so. Maybe it'll break me out of this writer's block I have with Killer's Realm and The Demon and The Dragon.

Review Replies:

pyromania101: No, it's not a preview. I was just reading around the Fate/Stay Night crossovers, and I came across this amusing little one-shot that replaced the LOTR characters with FSN ones…you know what, I'll just post it.  
>Disclaimer: The following is an excerpt from Faker of the Rings, by Arashi Leonhart<p>

_Shirou: I will take it! I will take the Ring to Mount Enzou I mean Mount Doom. Though...I do not know the way._

_Rin: I will help you on this task, Shirou Emiya, for as long as it is yours to bear._

_Saber: By my life or death I could protect you...I will. You have my sword._

_Archer: And you have my bow._

_Lancer: And my lance._

_Archer: And my sword. And my other sword. And my axe. And my dagger. And my spear. And my other sword. And—_

_*Lancer glares*_

So yeah, I just had to work in how that scene would be with Dante. The guy just has so many weapons!

Orchamus: Heh, sorry.

critic:…Ok? Thank you?

Lunatic Pandora1: I know right? The dude's a complete asshole.

The Fanfic Stealer: It does huh? I don't think it would be serious at all, considering how much of a curbstomp Dante would be, he'd just be cracking jokes the whole time, from the Balor fight, all the way to the Black Gate and the giant trolls.

ghoohg: It would, but I have enough of them going right now.

Techpriest of Tzeentch: Hey don't blame me, it was all Vergil!

Alright, now just before I finish, I want to leave a little idea for any other writers who read this to try: What if…Louise summoned…Jackie Estacado?

Think about it.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	17. The Awakening

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Awakening

– The Crusaders –

**Newcastle  
>Dawn<strong>

They rooted about in the carnage like scavengers, rats that searched for the barely edible to survive upon, vultures that pecked cautiously, ready to purge themselves of excess if danger threatened. Both descriptions were perfectly accurate regarding the Reconquista soldiers that scrambled about the detritus of the battle that had begun and ended two days ago. For if they didn't come up with something, anything that placated the three mages standing just a few feet behind, it was possible that they would be the targets of Cromwell's wrath, even if on the surface it didn't seem that Reconquista's First General was the sort to do such.

The man was in his mid-thirties. He wore a round cap and a green mantle. From the first sight, one could tell that he was a clergyman. However, his features could be described as soldierly, with his long aquiline nose and intelligent blue eyes. From the edges of his hat, curly blond hair peeked out. He stood just behind the one rank of soldiers that were somewhat desperately digging through the corpses and other such leavings of battle, with a two others next to him, a green-haired woman dressed in a hooded cloak that concealed her features, and a monstrously tall figure that was just as obscured, its face by stained bandages wrapped about its head and its body by an enveloping cloak of white messily stained with dark colors. Two days of searching had yet to reveal the corpse of Wales, or Wardes for that matter, and despite that Cromwell didn't seem at all perturbed.

This only made the commoners even more nervous.

Eventually, the searchers entered Newcastle's chapel, and the horrific sight within.

Blood covered the walls and floor, dried after more than two days of pooling, crusted and flaky like rust. In the center of the chapel was what looked like some kind of magic circle. The soldiers made very, very sure not to get anywhere near it…and since they wouldn't get near the blood either, this pretty much means that they hid outside of the chapel while Cromwell and his small retinue entered. The small group approached the magic circle, staying clear of the rest of the chapel, and studied it. Like most of the chapel, the circle was bloodied. It differed in that it was because the carved circle still held blood within its small canals, strangely as fresh as though it had just been spilled, and covered with a thin film of ash.

"Well, well, this is interesting." Cromwell mused, studying the circle.

"A circle of Sorcery." The bandaged figure said, in a voice that was neither male nor female, and had no intonation or inflection whatsoever. "Someone has pulled a soul from the afterlife back into the Mortal Realm."

"Now why would they do that I wonder?" Ignoring Cromwell, the figure stepped forward, nearly touching the circle, and raised a hand above it. The hand, and what could be seen of the arm, was wrapped in silvery chains etched with slightly glowing blue inscriptions that obscured the actual limb from sight. As the chains shifted, there were small gaps through which one could occasionally see a glint of gold. The bloody circle pulsed with a purple glow for a moment, before fading again as the cloaked figure dropped its arm.

"Wardes was summoned from the Netherworld." It said. "And then his body was destroyed, and his soul taken by his summoner."

"What a pity." Cromwell sighed. "Can you figure out who did it?" Rather than answer, the figure turned towards Fouquet.

"You spoke of a familiar, a man who called himself a 'Son of Sparda'." It asked. "He came with Wardes?"

"Y-yes. The familiar of the Valliere girl." Fouquet stammered in reply. She took a shaky step back as the figure crept closer to her. The hand came out again; the wrapped chains gently caressing Fouquet's cheek under her hood before the figure withdrew suddenly. A misty strand of _something_ trailed from Fouquet to the figure, colored a primarily blue shade of purple before disappearing.

"I have his aura." The figure intoned. "And that of his master. They lie in that direction." The figure pointed towards the eastern wall of the chapel.

Towards Tristain.

– The Zero –

_Louise found herself back in darkness, like the dream after Vergil's duel with Wardes, but with no glowing orbs. Instead, there was a small portal in the darkness, and beyond it was what appeared to be a desiccated room of a castle, once well-furnished and immaculate but now despoiled by filth and half-rotten. Crouching there, in the middle of the room next to a bust of a woman with some kind of blade impaled in her, was a man in a red coat. Sheathed on his back was the familiar claymore that Vergil wielded in past dreams, and from what Louise could see, she deducted that this man was Dante._

_Dante stood, back still towards the door, and stepped back a few times, apparently looking around at the room. Louise felt Vergil begin to move at that point, striding forward confidently, although there was a strange weight to his movements now. Dante turned then, and watched as Vergil stepped through the portal. There was a strange shimmering, and then Vergil was in the room. Dante just looked, even as Vergil drew his blade. However, instead of the curved sword Louise had seen him use, it was an enormous, somewhat organic looking two-handed blade as large as the greatsword she had seen Dante use before._

_Speaking of Dante, Vergil's twin looked older now, not by much but enough to seem somewhat mature. Rather than go shirtless as in previous dreams, he had a black vest under the coat._

_"This stinking hole was the last place I thought I'd find anyone with some guts." Dante said, shifting as he spoke. Louise was confused then. Didn't he recognize Vergil?_

_Vergil moved, bringing up his left hand and snapping his fingers with a metallic click, and Louise suddenly realized that there was clanking with every movement that Vergil made, like he was wearing a heavy suit of armor. To the side, two doors that led to a balcony creaked open, Vergil walking up to them. He turned briefly towards Dante, made a gesture to follow, and then ran through the doors, leaping up into the air and landing adroitly atop a wall, before turning and looking down into the courtyard below. Dante flew out through the doors in mere moments, landing in the courtyard lightly and looking about for Vergil. The half-devil through which Louise saw moved, holding his large zweihander upright in the air, the clank drawing Dante's gaze to him._

_Vergil leaped, slicing down with the zweihander as he fell and embedding the enormous blade into the stone ground of the courtyard as Dante rolled aside, drawing the claymore. Vergil punched out with his free hand, and Louise was able to glimpse his arm engulfed in a blue-black armor that pulsed with strange lines of power, before a burst of blue-purple fire flare out towards the red-clad twin. Another roll and Dante dodged the ball of eldritch flame, at the same time bringing him towards Vergil with a sweeping slice at his mid-section._

**Royal Palace, Tristain  
>Morning<strong>

Louise woke suddenly, with the feel of hands on her body lifting and moving her. It was shocking, until she recalled where she was and looked around. She was high in the air, above the familiar capital city of Tristain, between one of the large draconic demons called 'Frost Wyverns' and Tabitha's familiar Sylphe. Vergil was holding her by the legs on the Wyvern, while Wales on Sylpid supported her torso as they transferred her.

"Eh? What's going on?" She asked, a bit shakily, but not unreasonably so considering she was dangling between two large flying creatures over a thousand feet in the air.

"We are changing mounts." Vergil stated, infuriatingly calm from Louise's perspective. The half-devil familiar hoisted his master's legs, letting Guiche grab them and properly lower her onto Sylphid. The wind dragon seemed a bit put upon from all they were piling on it, from the supplies that they had from Newcastle, to Louise, Wales and the rest.

Their journey from the disastrous battlefield back to Tristain had taken two days, riding on the cold and inhospitable Frost Wyverns for most of it so that they wouldn't tire Sylphid, in order to use Tabitha's familiar just for this part. Vergil had explained, and somewhat dictated, the plan to them, seeing as how he didn't want to expose his new minions to the rest of the world just yet.

Louise, as she righted herself to a more comfortable posture, thought that it was a bit of a useless gesture considering how the devastation the Demons had wrought on Reconquista's forces definitely meant they wouldn't just be forgotten. Certainly she wasn't going to be able to erase the blood and gore of their slaughter for a long, long time. As she mused over this part of her familiar's plan, she noticed said familiar crouching on top of the Frost Wyvern's back.

"Vergil? What in the world are you…?" He jumped.

– The Devil –

Vergil took a bit of pleasure in the feel of the air rushing past him before landing, creating a tiny impact crater as he crouched to absorb the force of the landing, right in front of two very startled guards. Rising to his full height and brushing some dust off of his coat, Vergil patiently awaited the descent of Sylphid with Louise and the rest, as guards from other parts of the Royal Palace rushed to the scene. It was actually rather amusing to see them draw swords, spears, and spell-blades to confront him, the one who was personally responsible for the complete annihilation of the 616th Demonic Legion, former master of the Hell Vanguard, Summoner of Temen-Ni-Gru, and former Lieutenant to Mundus, a Prince of Hell. This rabble wouldn't slow him for a second if he was a hostile invader.

Then again, he was sure that this ensemble of defenders would be rather more intimidating to one of the mortal people that inhabited this realm, so allowances must be made.

At this point, a full platoon of guards were attempting to encircle him when Sylphid landed, bringing the Academy students and a hooded Wales down with it. Following them were some flying beasts that Vergil assumed were manticores, mounted by knights. Louise dismounted first, walking right up to the guards.

"Drop your wands!" The apparent leader ordered, with hesitant obedience from the students and Wales. "Flying above the Royal Palace is currently prohibited. Didn't you know that?"

Louise nodded, and introduced herself in a firm voice.

"I am Duke de la Vallière's third daughter, Louise Françoise, not someone suspicious. I request an audience with her Highness, the princess."

The apparent commander of the manticore-mounted knights, a somewhat tall mustachioed man, twitched as he heard the name. Apparently, Louise's family was well-known. He lowered his wand.

"You are Duke de la Vallière's third daughter?"

"Indeed."

Louise raised herself and stared straight into the commander's eyes.

"I see... you have your mother's eyes. Well, what is your purpose here?"

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you. It's a secret."

"Then I'll have to deny your request. I cannot grant you an audience with her Highness without knowing your purpose. I could lose my head over something like that!" the commander replied worriedly.

"I would be perfectly happy to remove your head now and save your superiors the trouble when they learn you delayed the return of Princess Henrietta's trusted agents." Vergil remarked, his body set in its usual regal stance, arms loose and hands at his sides. The commander bristled at this, stepping forward and raising his wand again, his subordinates doing likewise.

With a simple wave of his hand, Vergil summoned three sets of Swords, and brought them slicing down around the group. The guards stopped and gaped with ashen expressions as the glowing, ethereal copies of Force Edge planted themselves before them.

"Move." It was a simple word, yet one with much force behind it that caused the guards to shuffle aside, opening a path right into the palace for Vergil and the others. The Son of Sparda strode as usual, ignoring the flabbergasted and fearful faces of the guards, with Louise, Kirche and Guiche following with quite a bit more apprehension. Tabitha, as usual, had her face hidden behind a book, while Wales seemed a little shocked at how readily Vergil cowed the guards even as he followed, features concealed under the cowl of his cloak.

They didn't make it halfway there before a person clad in a purple mantle appeared from the palace gates. Seeing Louise, she frantically ran over.

"Louise!" Seeing the figure of Henrietta rushing over, Louise's face lit up in a sort of weary joy.

"Princess!" Under the now completely befuddled gazes of the guards, the two embraced in a hug.

"Aah, you came back safely. I'm glad. Louise, Louise Françoise…"

"Princess..." Louise's eyes began watering with tears.

"The letter... it is safe?" Henrietta asked. Louise nodded before going back and grabbing Wales by the hand, pulling him up to Henrietta.

"He has it." Louise explained, firmly setting the Prince of Albion right in front of her monarch. Henrietta paused, confused, until Wales shifted the hood of his cloak, and grabbed her hand, sliding the Water Ruby over her finger as it and Albion's Wind Ruby reacted, creating a small rainbow that arced between their hands. Henrietta's face brightened, and tears started streaking down from her eyes as the two royals embraced each other.

**Tristain Royal Academy of Magic  
>Night, Two Days Later<strong>

After all the events he'd experienced in the past two weeks or so, the summoning, Fouquet and Abaddon, the mission and Zima, Vergil found himself relaxing ever-so-slightly in the peaceful days that followed his return to Tristain. However, he was unable and unwilling to truly let himself go, what with Louise still experiencing his past through dreams. Now, she was going through his time as Nelo Angelo at Mallet Island. The first duel with Dante had, for some reason, been split, taking two days for her to see in its entirety. Then had followed the time he had stalked Dante throughout the castle as his twin dealt with demons, from the annoying Marionettes that Mundus had used, to the sinister and deadly Sins, with their scythes and scissors.

From the looks of things, it seemed Louise wasn't going to see anything that happened beforehand, so for now it seemed the secret of his past was safe. A good thing, since while their relationship had been mending since he'd rescued her from Wardes, there was still a distance between them, due to her foolishness during the mission. And with that rift, there was a good chance everything could go bad quick if she ever learned just what he had done, and been willing to do, in his quest for power.

Another factor preventing anything near total relaxation was the upcoming war with Reconquista Albion. With the confession wrought out of Wardes, Tristain's politicians and military leaders were rushing to prepare for invasion. And, with Wales telling them of Vergil's performance at Newcastle, they'd be begging Louise and him to go onto the battlefield. At the thought of Wales, Vergil recalled the debacle that had ended in them forcing the then-unconscious prince through a tunnel Verdandi had dug and out to where Vergil and the Frosts had met them.

That had come about when Louise and the others had learned just what Henrietta's letter to Wales had said, asking him to flee into exile in Tristain, and live with her despite the upcoming marriage. Wales had refused to do so, intending to stay with his forces.

Vergil could understand the honor that bound the man there, but practicality demanded the action that would best ingratiate him to Henrietta, Louise's liege and by extension, Vergil's. So, he'd knocked the Prince of Albion unconscious and bundled him up to ship with Louise and the others. Surprisingly, his subjects had actually agreed with Vergil, helping in the act even as they prepared to fight to their deaths. That kind of loyalty was truly admirable.

The Son of Sparda stood in the courtyard of the Academy, thinking these kinds of thoughts, when a voice came from behind.

"It's so peaceful out here at night. It lets you think calmly. Don't you agree?" It was Siesta the Asian-looking maid he'd questions weeks ago, standing just a few feet behind him. _Truly I am too relaxed, to not notice her approaching._

"Yes, it is." Vergil said simply. He himself had only a few times in his life where there had been peacefulness, serenity like this. Most of them were small, short spots during his quest, when he had traveled in the Mortal Realm in-between destinations of the kinds of high-population cities some demons frequented, when he'd traveled in the countryside of forests. Two stood out. His life before Eva…died…and the time just before he and Dante had truly split apart, in Fortuna…

"Vergil, how do you do it?" Again, Siesta's words interrupted his introspection.

"Do what?"

"How do you fight against the nobility and their magic? How do you do such dangerous things as fight a whole army? Where do you find the courage?" Vergil was silent for a moment.

"It isn't courage or anything like that with which I act." He said finally. "I just have a goal, and a path towards accomplishing it. Those things you mentioned, and other experiences throughout my life, were nothing but obstacles to be destroyed or circumvented in my pursuit of that goal. Necessity guided my actions."

"Necessity, huh? I see. Thank you Vergil. Goodbye." Something in that caused Vergil to turn and watch as Siesta withdrew, heading back into the castle. Even after the maid disappeared from sight, her farewell remained with him.

Reminding him of one he said long ago…

…in Fortuna…

**Shortly Afterwards**

Vergil was still awake, as usual, and patrolling around the courtyard when a rather large man in an apron ran up to him. Studying the person as he approached, Vergil recognized Marteau, the Academy's cook. He'd seen the man, along with some of the other servants, after his duel with Guiche during meals when they'd gone out with Siesta to praise him.

"Sir Vergil!" The cook gasped as he drew near, the run apparently taking a lot out of him. "Vergil! You must help!"

"What is it?" There was probably quite a bit of irritation in his voice, but Vergil resigned himself to listening.

"It's Siesta! She's been taken!"

"Taken? By who?"

"Lord Mott, the royal court messenger!" Marteau gritted out. "A depraved, vile noble who does what he wishes with commoner women like Siesta! Please Sir Vergil, you must save her!" Vergil paused before answering. Truthfully, it would be much less troublesome to remain out of this matter. And it wasn't like he really owed Siesta anything. However…

"I'll go." Vergil said. "Where is his estate?" She was the only one who was polite and kind from the start.

_I can't just let someone like that suffer like this…A truly Dante-like thought…_

Inside his Dimensional Armory, the two Devil Arms exchanged psychic feelings of amusement that went unnoticed by their master. Truly, they were fighting more on the side of angels than ever before.

– The Maid –

**Count Mott's Estate  
>Midnight<strong>

In the brightly-lit bath room of Mott's estate, Siesta shivered as the water cooled on her bare skin. She remembered Mott, arriving late in the day to deliver a message to the Headmaster from the palace, catching sight of her…and catching her as well, as she was finishing her duties in the castle, dragging her with him to demand her service from the Headmaster.

Since Mott was a palace messenger, the Headmaster couldn't refuse.

_At least,_ Siesta thought weakly, _my family will benefit from the pay here…_

Then, the door burst open, and four laughing, stumbling men entered the bath room, looking about until they spotted her.

"Ha! There's the wench!" One of them slurred, apparently quite drunk. He laughed, moving closer as Siesta shrank against the wall of the bath. "Didn't I tell you? Biggest tits you'll ever see!"

"Holy Founder! They're enormous!" Another gaped, moving closer with his hands reaching for Siesta. She slapped them away. The men's expressions grew dark, harsh, and the man she had slapped returned the blow, but against her face, knocking her against the side of the bath.

"Stupid bitch!" He growled. The others laughed, as Siesta's face ached and tears started rolling down her face.

"Alright now, let's get this over with!" The first man who'd entered said, unhitching his belt.

"Wait, wait, I though Mott wanted first time with her?" One of the other, quieter two said.

"Pfah, as if he'll notice! A wench like this, she's probably been used a few dozen times by now!"

As their laugher sounded again, echoing off of the walls, Siesta's vision faded…

**?**

_Siesta's eyes snapped open, and immediately the maid was confused. Rather than the bath of Mott's estate, she found herself upon a mountain, high enough that snow piled behind her, but low enough that the treetops of a forest stretching before her drew equal. She was also clothed, unlike in the bath, and the garment was strange to her, something like a black robe that was tied at the waist with a red sash. From the feel of it, it was made of a very fine material, maybe even silk._

**_"Siesta." _**_The voice, dark and deep and inhuman, came from behind her. Siesta twisted about, and behind her, built into the mountain, was a large structure that enclosed the mouth of a cave that dug deep into the ancient natural edifice. It had a strange style roof that went down from a peak to curve back up slightly at four corners. From within the shadows, there was movement. An enormous figure, at least twice as tall as Siesta, emerged from the cave. It was somewhat humanoid in shape, armored in a strange black armor, individual pieces made out of large iron plates, with armored skirts. As the figure drew out of the shadows, its inhuman nature became more apparent. Its legs were more like the front limbs of a griffon, enormous avian talons, and while its arms were more human-like in shape and proportion, large claws sliced out from the tips of the gauntlets' fingers. From its back sprouted enormous wings, at least twenty-five feet from tip-to-tip, if not more, made of black and dark, brown-red feathers. Its head, when it was revealed, was that of an eagle, with a cruelly hooked beak and sharp, insightful eyes._

_And then, in a whirlwind of shadows and feathers, the beast disappeared, and in its place stood a man, wearing a robe similar to Siesta's. For a moment, Siesta could only stand and stare, agape at the sudden transformation before the features of the man struck her. While individual and unique, as with anyone, there were elements that reminded her of the faces she had seen every day for most of her life, growing up in Tarbes, her home village. And of the face she saw every time in the mirror…_

_"Great-Grandfather!"_

_"Siesta." The man, her ancestor, greeted, smiling. "It's so nice to see you directly, after all these years of watching you and your siblings from afar."_

_"H-how is this possible?" Siesta stammered. "Is this the afterlife? Am I dead?"_

_"No." Her ancestor shook his head sadly. "Although you are in danger of that fate. This place, it is a dream. A memory. But sadly," He sighed, "There is no time for that now. I have something important to tell you."_

_"What?" Siesta was definitely confused by now._

_"Your friend, Vergil. You are like him."_

_"What! No, no I can't be! He's so strong…so fast, and so powerful…I'm nothing like him!"_

_"It is true you are not as powerful as he is." The spirit before her acknowledged. "For my blood is diluted within you, and I was never as strong as Vergil's father. But nonetheless, the blood of a Devil courses through your veins Siesta. I am displeased that it has come to this. I had hoped my line could prosper in this new world that I had fallen into…but these nobles take too much, and this one must suffer." Her ancestor moved forward, taking one of Siesta's hands in his own. "I cannot take action. My body is long gone, and my soul is weak." Suddenly, the man was gone, and the monster, armored and feathered and winged and beaked, stood, one of his talons piercing through her palm._

**_"With my last act, I awaken your blood, Siesta, Daughter of Chi no Ishi, the Tengu of Fuji-san."_**_ His voice rumbled, forming clouds in the sky above as the aquiline eyes shone blood-red. **"Use my soul to slay those who would seek to harm you and your loved ones. Use my power to punish those who shelter darkness in their souls. With my blessing, AWAKEN!"** The avian monster, the Devil, vanished in a flurry of feathers, and in Siesta's hands formed a weapon, a small scythe-like weapon in her bloodied right hand, connected by a chain to a heavy weight that dangled from her left hand, clenched into a fist._

In the real world, the men were still undressing when Siesta's eyes snapped open, glowing a baleful red.

– The Author –

Alright, now when I originally posted the snippet of this chapter, I was intending to write the part where Louise accidentally gets drunk off of a love potion. But, I decided to carry out this part, something HolyKnight5 suggested and I thought sounded awesome.

As for the hints I'm dropping about Vergil, I decided to start filling in some of his blank backstory with my own ideas. Like I said before, I'm ignoring the manga and novels that had him in them, mainly because I haven't read them, but also because I kind of like the idea of his past I have in mind.

Vergil and Siesta's discussion, while I was writing it, brought up a lot of thought about 'courage' and 'bravery' in me, and how it may apply to the Sparda Twins. According to Wikipedia and the internets, Courage (and its numerous synonyms) is defined as "the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation." Now, where in the series have we seen either Dante or Vergil ever be afraid, uncertain or intimidated? Or even considerate of pain or danger? If they've never truly experienced one of those, can it be truly said that they're courageous and brave? Dante confronts everything with a general aloofness and lackadaisical manner, while Vergil just has this ever-present stoicism and sometimes scorn. Despite things that would have downright terrified almost anyone else, they've had the same general demeanor. The most emotion seen out of them in their situations is more anger and wrath. Are they even capable of feeling fear and acting against it? Or has their half-Devil nature completely inured them to any and all sources of terror, and thus precluded them from real courage? It's something to think about, philosophically.

Review Replies:

pyromania101: You're a right blood-thirsty reviewer aren't you? Here we are, just finished killing off Wardes and consigning his soul to torment and you're already calling for someone else's death.

Orchamus: He just might like the elves, if just that they're pretty much one of the few races that would pose a challenge for him.

drake202: Hmm, I'll have to check that out…

Lunatic Pandora1: With this character, I'm intending to draw in another universe too.

Kogane1089: I like it so far.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	18. The Massacre

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Massacre

– The Devil –

**Mott Estate Courtyard  
>Night<strong>

Mott's guards were startled when four high-pitched, eardrum-shattering screams emanated from within the mansion. This served to be a perfect distraction for the stealthy Frosts to sneak around and judiciously impale all of them on the reptilian Demons' icicle-claws. All of the guards, mage or not, died upon the Frosts' claws, and soon pools of blood scattered the estate's courtyard as the Frosts fed.

Vergil and Gelus strode leisurely through the remnants, swiftly moving towards the front door of the mansion.

**"Those were some familiar screams." **Gelus commented idly, with a wistful tone to his otherwise normal deep hiss.

"The screams of men so frightened beyond rational thought, their screams sound like women's'." Vergil described. "A common phenomenon for those like us, considering that's how everyone sounds when we deal with them." Then the half-devil frowned. "Entirely too much like those screams…" _The screams of those who die by the Inferno._ Vergil's pace quickened, bringing him to the mansion's doors in a moment as Gelus stayed behind to supervise the Frosts and Wyverns in their next duty.

A draw and a slice with Derflinger, slightly augmented with Vergil's Infernal Energy, cut the imposing set of doors in half…along with the stone wall they were set into.

"Owww! Partner, I know that your little trick makes it easier to cut, but you should still show a little more respect for a venerable old sword like me!"

**_"Venerable? Old?" _**Abaddon's voice echoed in Vergil's skull. **_"Come find me after another epoch, and then we'll discuss your age during your mid-life crisis!"_**

**_"Hmph. Old fogies."_** Zima's pleasantly feminine hiss grumbled. Vergil ignored the voices in his hand and head, moving forward through the entrance hall. It wasn't anything special according to Vergil's experience, merely another excessively huge and horrendously decorated mansion room, and simply less run-down than those Vergil had visited before. In the middle of the hall, a large group of guards were crushed together around a bald mustachioed man dressed in what had to be some of the gaudiest clothing Vergil had seen outside of Victorian-era paintings. That, he presumed, was Mott. Something strange about the formation struck Vergil, before he realized that the guards were also nervously glancing away from him towards the door that led further into the mansion's interior.

Just then, more screams echoed from within the mansion, making most of the encircling guards turn back towards the inner door, sweating, even as the ones immediately facing Vergil started twitching nervously.

"You!" Mott shouted, rather stupidly shoving aside his guards to point his wand accusingly at Vergil. "Worthless commoner! You and your conspirators will pay for this indignity!"

**_"Typical mortal." _**Abaddon scoffed. **_"Goes off blaming the first person he sees for the strange things happening in his home. Please, let me take care of him."_** Before Vergil could make any further movement, the door that most of Mott's guards were facing exploded outwards, showering the entire hall with splinters as a black blur smashed into the forward ranks, sending shattered pieces of chain-mail and weapons flying even as blood splattered the floor from the bones rupturing through the guards' flesh. Vergil caught a glimpse of the object as it was quickly withdrawn back through the now-open entrance. It was a black metal block about the shape of an elongated trapezoid, just the size of a large man's fist, attached to something behind the broken door by a similarly colored chain.

"Whoah." Derflinger muttered. "I'd hate to see the beast that could swing that little thing with so much force. Ooh! Maybe it's a big ogre or something!"

Mere moments after Derflinger's off-hand comment, someone walked into the room. In all actuality, 'walked' was a rather tame and basic description of the action. A more complete and accurate one would be 'traipsed with sensual confidence and absolute grace'. The person in question was a woman with an immaculate figure, of moderate height, and a rather large bust, all covered by a typical kunoichi outfit as depicted in modern media, a short robe-like tunic that looked like it should flash everyone in the vicinity the moment the woman so much as twitched one of her legs, colored black with red trim and a maroon sash wrapped tight around the waist, drawing attention to the hour-glass figure and large bust. The front of the tunic parted slightly at the top, with a neckline low enough to show a tantalizing bit of cleavage. From the thigh was covered in fishnet, showing off the woman's smooth, perfect skin. From the knee down were knee-high socks, ending in flat-heeled sandals.

The woman's sudden appearance and saliva-inducing movement had drawn every man's gaze to her bust and down, before Vergil tore his gaze from her admittedly gorgeous body and looked at her face. Her nose and mouth were covered by a mask, but what drew Vergil's studious stare were her eyes, black in the sclera with burning red, coal-like irises. It took a moment before the woman's features suddenly struck Vergil.

**_"No way!"_** The two Devil Arms chorused inside Vergil's head.

"Siesta!" It had been a long time since Vergil had been anything close to stunned or flabbergasted, but under the circumstances it was understandable.

The Asiatic maid-turned-demonic-ninja twirled the weapon in her hands; an item Vergil realized was a kusarigama, a sickle-like kama attached by chain to a heavy metal weight. The kama swung quickly on the length of chain Siesta let slip, before she whipped it about with a single, violent movement that made the blood-red blade glint in the light before it sliced into the second rank of guards. As the arterial blood spray colored the marble walls and floor red, Vergil noted an Infernal presence, not as powerful as Abaddon or Zima when he'd first come across them, or even in their current state, but noticeable and definitely greater than that of the Frosts. And then, another, just underneath it somehow…

Vergil found his eyes drawn to the kusarigama, the metal of the weapon somehow gleaming brighter as the blood sprays gravitated towards its blade.

_A non-sentient Devil Arm…_

– The 'Maid' –

There seemed to be a veil draped over Siesta's sight. Everything was tinged with a bloody red, and somehow her vision was both blurred and sharpened…it was strange. And yet, it also somehow seemed right. The only way Siesta could describe it was like she was two different people, one drunk and morose, the other ecstatic and darkly joyous. The men who had assaulted her now lay in the bathroom, two cut into pieces at every joint, one decapitated, and another with his entire torso crushed, ribs stabbing into his lungs and chest cavity leaking gore onto the once-immaculate floor. She at once felt distraught and gleeful about that, considering that she was the one who had done that to them, with a strange, otherworldly weapon that had apparently formed itself out of shadows along with her current outfit.

Despite her contradictory feelings about the casual murders, Siesta found herself cheerfully and sadly going through Mott's castle and committing more murderous actions, until she left the halls behind her liberally painted with blood and gore and corpses. Soon, the guards ran away rather than face her, and they all seemed to be heading the same way. So, Siesta followed, the weapon occasionally swinging out randomly to cut apart a wall or smash into the floor.

And then, she reached the entrance hall, where the guards clustered around the bastard that brought her here. Then, both parts of her were agreed.

Mott was going to _pay_. In particularly _painful_ amounts of flesh.

But first, to get around his guards. A large chunk of the guards massing around the noble were already dead, slain by Siesta's opening moves. There were no more than twenty guards left, and most of those were on the other side of Mott, facing towards the entrance doors.

_No problem_.

– The Devil –

Vergil watched, still shocked, as Siesta moved, shadows flickering around her as she advanced towards Mott and his guards. The guards that were closer to him, in what might have been an admirable display of loyalty if it wasn't to the gold their despicable employer paid them, reoriented themselves to face Siesta. They never got the chance to do much more though, as Vergil took advantage of their sudden distraction to attack them. Derflinger's blade, charged with Vergil's Infernal Energy, cleaved straight through the rather pitiful chainmail and leather ensemble they wore, the half-devil's strikes cutting many of his targets in half and leaving them to fall in pieces. Then, just as quickly as he struck, he stepped back into his original position, flicking Derf out and spattering blood onto the corpses.

Siesta's assault, while not as fast, was just as devastating, the surviving guards falling in pieces and being crushed as she danced her way across the room towards Mott. One guard had the distinct misfortune to get his neck tangled in the kusarigama's chain, choking before a tug tore the black metal through his neck like a saw through a tree trunk, spraying blood onto the man's nominal comrades.

The only real threat came when Mott waved his wand, summoning water out of pots that had been placed in the corners of the room, gathering all of the liquid and compressing it until he lashed out with it, high-pressure water cutting through the pathetic remnants of his guards, slicing at Siesta. Vergil felt no surprise when the burgeoning part-devil gracefully jumped forward and twisted, allowing the whip of super-pressurized water to pass under her with no harm done as the blade of her kusarigama spiraled out, extending as the chain lengthened itself. Siesta landed like a cat, in a low crouch, and tugged on the chain, the kusarigama moving in a way that defied mortal physics to slice cleanly – rather too cleanly, Vergil felt – through Mott's arms and torso, separating them and leaving lower body and arms below the elbow to fall to the ground as the upper halves fell back slightly. Mott's blood spray arced out, spattering onto the floor just a few millimeters from Vergil's boots.

Just when he though she was done, Siesta whipped the other end of the kusarigama out, the weight scribing a perfect half-circle in the air as it impacted on Mott's torso with all the force of a falling meteor, all focused into a small puny area. The crunch of Mott's ribcage collapsing into his chest cavity was matched by the crunch of the marble floor, cracked by the weight.

The rather blunt display of power only merited an arched eyebrow from Vergil. Once more composed both inside and outside, he cast his studious gaze about the room. Some of the Frosts, Gelus at their front, had snuck in to see the source of the Infernal Energy they had felt, and they were staring appreciatively at the bloody carnage Siesta had left.

**_"Hmm…Flashy and quick. Not a lot of enjoyment…hmph. Looks like one of your kind Ice-Wench."_** Abaddon judged.

**_"No, see that shroud of shadows about her? She's one of the Darkness."_** Zima rebutted.

"Somewhat unrefined." Vergil noted, walking forward with his usual stride. "Crude, even." He said, making an offhand gesture towards the random sprays of blood that decorated the entrance hall, the side-effect of Siesta putting too much force behind her strikes.

**_"Hmm, actually, she might be a Blood…look at her weapon."_** Studying it now, Vergil could see that, rather than blood dripping off of the kusarigama's blade; it was dripping _up_, onto the blade, from the floor. The puddle that was underneath it was actually being formed by small rivulets of the red fluid that trailed from the corpses.

"Interesting." Siesta didn't move as Vergil stepped forward, ignoring the blood that stained the bottom of his boots. She seemed to be focused on Mott's corpse, to the exclusion of all else, even ignoring the Frosts that slunk by her to get at the guards' bodies. The Son of Sparda simply stood to the side, studying Siesta as she herself stared at Mott. Then Derflinger spoke up.

"Well, crap. She's in shock." Gelus joined Vergil standing in front of her, and made a snapping motion with his claws next to her ear, the long talons producing a loud _snick_ sound.

She didn't respond.

**"Well, that's a problem."**

**Devil Arm File: Chi no Ishi, Kusarigama of the Mountain**

Among the very few Demons to have risen to claim lives as Devils, Chi no Ishi was one of the even smaller number of Demons that were generally amicable to humans. Most of his two thousand years as a Devil were spent posing as Tengu in Japan, allowing travelers who successfully climbed his mountain residence to request his services, in exchange for their service or an acceptable bartering item, so long as they showed proper respect. In World War II, an elderly couple approached him for protection for their only son, who flew fighters in the war. Chi no Ishi accepted, in exchange for the promised service of their son after the war. However, he was unable to carry out his end of the deal, when the man was killed in battle by a Devil working for the Chinese, and both Devils were drawn into the world of Halkeginia by a portal formed during an eclipse. After their fight concluded, Chi no Ishi felt guilty for his failure, and took the man's form in an attempt to live his life for him. Eventually, the transformation spell leeched out enough Infernal Energy that Chi no Ishi became in danger of death, forcing him to seal himself into the blood of his descendants…waiting to fade away. At least, until Siesta was threatened.

Summoned by Siesta, Chi no Ishi was turned into a kusarigama, a kama with a blood-red blade attached by a black chain to a fundo, a heavy iron weight. There are golden Japanese characters inscribed on both the kama and the fundo, the kama's blade bearing the character for blood, while the fundo is carved with the character for stone. Chi no Ishi is able to manipulate its weight's mass, allowing it to fly light as a feather, yet strike with all the force of a mountain. This ability extends to the wielder as well, allowing them similar abilities, and capable of jumping far greater distances than otherwise, and striking with much greater force. Chi no Ishi's kama seeks out and attracts blood, and is able to pierce whatever physical protection a target may have. The chain can change its length, extending and retracting as needed for long- and short-ranged attacks. Due to his weakness, Chi no Ishi was unable to retain his sentience, but even diminished as it was, his soul is still bestially aware, and will strike those who threaten his descendants.

– The Author –

Well, crap.

And I promised myself I wouldn't do this anymore.

All I can say is that shit's been hitting the fan here…but that's my problem. At any rate, between personal problems and writer's block, I had the first 1500 words of this chapter stuck on my hard drive while I started reading more than writing. Personally, reading is a bit of a problem for me, since I read rather fast, and any story of less than 100,000 words I can finish in the time between waking up and eating breakfast. So I go through a helluva lot of material here on FFnet. Recently I've found myself tearing through the Naruto archives, found a few good stories there.

_Been thinking about doing one myself…_

What! No, no! You don't have time for that.

_Hmm…Wind Release: Spiraling Bullet…_

Nein! Gehen Sie nun auf die mechanischen Dateien zu arbeiten!

Ahem.

Now, before I post this, two things: First, if anyone who speaks decent Japanese could tell me if Chi no Ishi _really_ means Bloodstone, I would appreciate it. I've been using Google Translate for most of my foreign language writing...Second, if more of you don't start reviewing, Vergil will be doing quite a bit more than looming over your shoulder.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	19. Intermission

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

Intermission

– The Zero –

**_"Little girl…"_**

_As before in her dreams, the demonic voice spoke, rough and brutal in tone. But rather than the mocking songs she had heard previously, it was merely speaking now._

**_"You have no idea of the power I wielded…and the power I sought..."_**

_This memory was different than the others. Always, those involved quick, brutal combat and bloodied corpses. This one, however, began in a library, an institution she was intimately familiar with, given her extended study periods in the academy's library researching various magical practices and theories in trying to advance herself so that she might get something other than an explosion with her spells._

_This example she found herself seeing through Vergil's eyes was apparently an old, if not ancient and ill-kept structure. There were frankly enormous cobwebs on the ceiling, hanging between the bookshelves and in the corners of the room that were either the product of multiple generations of spiders or a handful of enormous ones that Louise would rather not meet or witness. Further adding to the appearance of age and neglect was the mold and mildew that covered entire shelves. That was what she could see before Vergil's gaze caught on a particular tome, a blue leather-bound example that he drew from its shelf and opened. Louise was surprised to find the book in extremely good shape, given the rot that appeared to have fallen on most of the others. However, it was completely incomprehensible to her, the characters in their deep red ink being completely foreign to her._

_Vergil flipped through the tome rapidly, thumbing past diagrams and artwork that sickened and somehow pained Louise before the sound of shoes on marble echoed, approaching the half-devil. Vergil ignored whoever it was, instead flipping through the last dozen pages of the book._

_"So, you're looking for the book of ancient legends." The voice was definitely that of a man, mature and calm. "The tale of the demon warrior, Sparda." Vergil snapped the book shut with a resounding thud, replacing it back in its hollow._

_"That's not what I'm looking for." Her familiar's voice was as always, calm and dismissive. "Leave me." The man ignored Vergil, instead drawing closer with an unhurried trod._

_"Then what are you looking for?" He asked, stepping into the barest edge of Vergil's line of sight. He was a bald man with faded heterochromatic eyes, one a faded light blue and the other an almost-yellow light brown. "A demon…who impregnates a woman…who then bears twin sons…that's the story…isn't it?" The man turned his head from side to side as he walked closer, revealing some sort of discoloration on the left side of his face, spreading from just below his left, brown eye, down under the collar of the simple suit he wore._

_The moment he stopped, Vergil drew his sword in a flash, the tip holding steady four inches away from the man's chin._

_"Leave me." Vergil's voice was even, but with that distinct undercurrent of threat Louise had heard several times since she summoned him. "I won't tell you a third time." Instead of obeying, the man smirked._

_"People," He began, raising a hand to the gently curved blade, running his fingers along the dull back, his thumb drifting close to the razor-sharp edge that Louise knew could cut apart thick stone with ease. "Inherently fear," His hand drifted up until it reached the tip, where suddenly, he drove his thumb onto the blade, cutting it open, "Evil. However," He continued, stepping closer to Vergil and drawing his thumb along the sword, "Occasionally, a person may become…seduced by evil. Vergil's eyes, steadily focused on the books and away from the man, drifted towards him._

_With a flick, he drew the weapon way from the bald man, twirling it once and drawing it against its sheath before driving it home with a _snick_. _

_"What are you getting at?" Vergil asked. The man studied Vergil for an instant._

_"Share with me…" He said, "The story of Sparda…" The two contemplated each other for a moment, before Vergil turned on his heel and strode away as the scene faded into darkness._

**_"He…is the one who aided me…"_**_ The demonic voice hissed sibilantly now. **"Neither of us trusted each other, but in the pursuit of power we worked together…to resurrect the Seven Sins…"**_

_A new vista came into being, a church as ancient as the library must have been, but in even greater disrepair, the roof collapsed inward and the doors gone from their frames._

_"Are you sure this is the place Arkham?" Now she had a name for the man. Wait…wasn't Arkham the name of that purple blob-thing Vergil and Dante fought?_

_"Indeed." The bald scholar, like and unlike Professor Colbert replied. "Originally, Temen-ni-Gru was constructed and then sealed in Sumeria, present-day Iran. But when Sparda returned to this world, he moved it, using the blade that you now wield."_

_"I care little for its history." Vergil dismissed Arkham, striding forward and into the church. Soon enough, the pair found themselves in the catacombs underneath the edifice, with dust everywhere, and a single figure in the center of the tomb they entered. It was a ghastly sight, a horned, humanoid creature with the face of an infant turned upwards to the ceiling, broken and twisted upside-down angel wings protruding from its back chained to the ground with stakes. Those were far from the only disfigurements, its manacled hands bearing sharp, foot-long talons and its hooved feet impaled by stakes bearing crucifixes atop them._

_"This and other Devils were imprisoned by your father," Arkham explained, "The Seven Sins who instigated the construction of Temen-ni-Gru and were stripped of their powers and identities to serve as the first seal."_

_"Impossible." Vergil declared. "No one can cow one of the Fallen so."_

_"Your father did so." Vergil considered that before nodding, and walking towards the bound Sin._

**_"WHO GOES THERE?" _**_A new voice, tortured and pained called out. **"IS THAT YOU SPARDA? TRAITOROUS FILTH!"**_

_"It is not Sparda who stands before you now Fallen One," Vergil intoned, "It is his son."_

**_"THE MORTAL-LOVER SPAWNED? THIS AURA…HE BRED WITH A MORTAL!"_**

_"Enough of the past. What concerns us now is the present and the future." There was a pause, hesitation, before the chained Devil responded._

**_"IF YOU ARE OF SPARDA…YOU CAN GIVE ME BACK MY NAME! GIVE IT TO ME! NOW!"_**

_"No." Vergil denied. "I have no knowledge of what my father stole from you, and even if I did I would not sully my lips with the name of one as pitiful as you are now." A roar created an artificial whirlwind, the dust flinging itself around in the shifting current. "Enough whining! Have some pride and name yourself!" Another pause, pregnant with possibility, bridged the gap between Vergil's words and the Devil's response. A deep, ghastly chuckle echoed in the catacombs._

**_"AS YOU SAY, SPAWN OF SPARDA…I WAS ONE OF LUCIFER'S COMMANDERS, I CAN CERTAINLY CHOOSE MY NAME. I AM PRIDE!"_**_ With that proclamation came a surge of power, the Devil suddenly growing in mass as a once decrepit and gaunt form filled with power and muscle. The stakes embedded in its wings were ejected with disturbing, gurgling noises as the broken appendages fixed themselves. The manacles on its wrists shattered as it flexed its arms, and the hooves broke past the crucifix stakes with ease. _

**_"AH…THAT FEELS SO GOOD!"_**_ The Devil chuckled. **"THE CHAINS ARE LIFTED…AND THE SEAL IS FRACTURED. YOU SEEK TEMEN-NI-GRU."**_

_"No. I seek Sparda's power._

**_"AND YOU WOULD CLAIM IT AT THE COST OF THOUSANDS OF MORTAL LIVES? SUMMONING TEMEN-NI-GRU, EVEN AFTER BREAKING THE SEAL OF SIN, WILL REQUIRE A GREAT SACRIFICE…TO SAY NOTHING OF WHEN THE GATE IS UNLOCKED."_**

_"That does not matter."_

**_"HEHEHE...HOW IRONIC THAT SPARDA'S SPAWN SHALL UNDO ALL THAT HE HAS DONE, AND BRING ABOUT THE DEATH OF THE MORTAL REALM…VERY WELL. DO NOT LET ME DELAY YOU."_**_ The baby-like face split open, literally from ear-to-ear, in a grin full of sharp, deadly fangs as Pride backed up into the shadows. And all went black._

**_"Do you see?"_**_ Louise yelped, turning to face the once omnipresent voice that now boomed from a discernible source, noting that she had a body now even as she did so. Upon seeing the source, she squeaked, just before a clawed and scaled hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her until her feet dangled two feet above a ground that wasn't there before. Part of Louise's mind, shocked by the sight before her, placidly examined the new vista, which was that of a plain strewn with black ash and glassy stones instead of dirt and decorated with enormous bloody pools and the mangled corpses of thousands._

_The dominant part of Louise, however, was horror-struck by what held her captive. The creature that held her now was something out of a nightmare. It loosely resembled that devil form the Sparda Twins transformed into in her vision-dreams, but matured and grown into a horrific monster. Due to her current situation, the first aspect Louise noted was the beast's hands, four-digit humanoid appendages armored with blue sapphire scales, with fingers tipped with two-inch claws. They, and the rest of the creature, were covered by similarly colored armor plates that looked like the scales had grown and fused together, the only separation being glowing purples veins that pulsated like a heartbeat and the usual brief gaps in the armor that showed the smaller scaled hide.  
>Louise's gaze drifted down, along the arms and to the shoulders, following the pulsing veins to a glowing diamond-cut amethyst embedded in its chest, before following other veins towards its feet. Rather than the expected hooves, the feet were three-toed digitigrade appendages, with the first and third toes being of standard size and equipped with three-inch talons. The second toe, however, was upraised, allowing the nine-inch curving sickle-talon to hang above like a guillotine blade for anyone unfortunate to be underneath the Devil's foot.<br>Gulping then, she looked up, at the Devil's face. In general shape, it was still Vergil's face, with the bone structure the same and the shape of the eyes as well. That, however, just added a hint of familiarity to the whole picture that just made everything else worse. The mouth was a lipless monstrosity filled with what looked like dozens of sharp, serrated, pearly-white fangs, accompanied by two insect mandibles on either side of the jaw. Two ivory horns sprouted from the forehead, arcing smoothly back before curving slightly up over the Devil's head, which was covered in segmented…hair…things that crudely imitated Vergil's hair. There was no nose, just two nostrils embedded in the center of the face. The eyes, as mentioned, were of the usual shape, but their sclera was as black as a new moon, with bloody red irises and silver, slit pupils._

**_"Do you see what I did? How close I came to achieving it?"_**_ The Devil spoke, the only movements its jaw made to open slightly and twitch the mandibles with every word. **"All that effort, all that work, to gain all that power…only to be defeated by my worthless twin!" **Louise remembered, then, the original visions, of Vergil fighting beyond demons to, as she later learned, chase after Dante and the blob Arkham (who, apparently, had been the bald man in this vision). And of course, the final duel between Vergil and Dante. In the last two visions before she witnessed the duels between an armored Vergil and an older Dante, there had been references to power, specifically the power of Sparda, the twins' father._

_With this latest vision adding more contexts…_

**_"Yes, yes, yes! You see it don't you!"_**_ The Devil chortled, drawing Louise closer to its face before suddenly throwing her back. Louise landed amidst a pile of corpses that to her horrified eyes morphed into the forms of her classmates, teachers and family. With her wider perspective of the Devil, she saw two sets of wings, the first being the protective, hardened type that beetles had to cover their functional wings, while the other was a set of avian wings, upside-down like with Pride's pair, with feathers of every hue and shade of blue and purple. _

_**"What matter the foolish mortals that would die? I would have had power! Power with which I could have accomplished ANYTHING!" **The Devil strode forward, talons clicking on hard stone and cutting through ashy ground. **"But now, here I am, weaker than before. My human self may be growing content with this situation, but I will not stand for it! I will grow! I will ascend to the heights that Lucifer himself achieved! All that stands in my way are my weak half, and **_**you._" _**_Now the Devil stood by her, peering down from its height, before raising one foot, the second, sickle-shaped talon twitching in anticipation._

**_"Now hold still, and let me mangle your soul!"_**

**Louise's Room  
>Night<strong>

A scream tore itself from Louise's throat as she bolted upright in bed, echoing throughout the academy's dorms. Shuddering, her hands flew to her throat, feeling for the gaping wound the talon would have left on it. A relieved sigh escaped from her when her fingers detected no cut, and no blood. Then she frowned, digesting the new information she'd obtained.

– The Author –

Right. Well. Sorry for leaving you guys in the lurch again, and that this isn't a full chapter. In my defense, I have been writing for the Devil of Zero...just not the right parts. I got a bit...enthusiastic about some new stuff I had planned and jumped ahead in the story to write it, and completely forgot about continuing Siesta's arc.

Heh. My bad.

Part of the new plan, however, requires that I recant something I've said previously: Vergil _will_ be getting Yamato back. As for how...well, let's wait and see eh? Also part of the plan is introducing elements of two other video games that I feel mesh rather well with Devil May Cry's overall mythology and background. Refer to the updated Glossary of Terms for hints.

As for an explanation for the events of this _Intermission_, I had stated I was going entirely off of the games for the backstory, but for the scene with Pride I did rely a bit on the Devilmaycry . wikia article for the DMC3 manga, although I used a different description for Pride than the one in the wiki. As for the Devil, you can say that's Vergil's Devilish half, although in Freud's structural model of the psyche, it could also be described as some sort of personification of a warped and twisted meld of Id and Ego...but I digress.

At any rate, looks like Vergil's gonna have to do some explaining to do, eh?

Review Replies (Both for Chapters 17 and 18)

pyromania101 (17): Thank you.  
>True.<br>Eh...maybe. Like I've said before, I'm not one for romance, especially writing it, but since most of this isn't planned at all, it might happen.  
>Yep.<br>See above.  
>I know, right?<br>(18): Heh...sorry.  
>Eh, I'll settle for it then.<br>Well, on Mott's part, he was kind of stricken by the fact that his guards were completely decimated by a 'weak commoner girl' who then dodged his spell and didn't really give him much time to do anything but start thinking to plead for mercy. And Siesta _may_ have some side-effects...a bit of a psychological malfunction...  
>Part of my problem was my overactive imagination whenever I started writing Siesta's description...brrr...<br>Thank you.  
>Well, I'm certainly not going to write one anytime soon, although I do have ideas...<p>

bakapervert: You're welcome.

Zaralann: Thank you.

LunaticPandora1 (17): Indeed. The chained one, in particular, will introduce some very awesome elements."  
>(18): He most certainly did.<br>Be glad it's not Dante. He would have buried you in pizza debt.

Imperial Warlord (17): Thank you, and my apologies.  
>(18): Thank you.<p>

Takeshi Yamato (18): Oh yes, they did.  
>For many various reasons, yes she is. And, yes, he will.<br>Sorry about the bio, it kind of got...side-tracked with my recent epiphany on the story's direction...although in relation to that, when am I gonna see another chapter of MSGX?

Orchamus (17): Psh, they were only human. Hardly something to get worked up over for Vergil.  
>HolyKnight5 gave me the idea, and on reflection it certainly made sense. If her ancestor in canon was a Japanese fighter pilot, why couldn't he be a Japanese Devil here?<br>(18) Like I said with pyro, maybe.

ShadowAngelBeta (17): Thank you.

CrimsonBlade11 (17): I'm glad you enjoy my story. For two other Vergil-centric stories, I'd recommend Dark Defense by kyugan, a crossover with Harry Potter, and Hell Follows Me by Tora-Katana.

Almark (17): The circumstances around it will be different, as will some of the combatants (Wardes is dead after all) but yes.  
>Thank you.<br>That is what I was going for.  
>Thank you.<p>

Brad W (17): He did indeed.

code R.R. (17): Well, you'll see some skull-_splitting_ in a while, I assure you.

AnubisGundam0 (17): True...although I'll note that they didn't really do anything courageous then either (not that it would have helped).  
>That I will.<p>

HolyKnight5 (17): I'm not to clear on ZnT canon, but I think the Elves are native to Halkeginia. Although, given that in canon they apparently have been getting a lot of tech from Saito's world (among these, a nuclear submarine) and that here I'm swapping all of those out with stuff from DMC...they'll certainly have reason to fear Vergil..._heeheehee.  
><em>They are?  
>Eh...survivors? With Frosts? Hungry Frosts at that? Heh.<br>(18): Hmm...an intriguing idea...Majutsu huh?

scott pike (17): Thank you.  
>Yep. Going by generations, I'd say she's one-eighth Devil, whereas Nero is one-fourth.<br>Well, it's not canonical, just my interpretation for this story.  
>Hmm...<p>

Kojiro Kun (17): Oh it's gonna go further, especially with the new plan.

EVA-saiyajin (17): Thank you, and I will.

ZXEclipse (17): Stunned  
>Well...it won't really be miraculous...<p>

panda-kun77 (17): Hehe, just what I was going for.  
>Trust me, some of the ones coming up will be quite...shocking...<p>

perseus: It might happen, it might not. I'll see how it goes.

asredwer (17): Thank you.  
>Well, for one thing, Tarbes is never gonna be the same. Heh.<br>(18) I'm glad you do.  
>There's going to be a lot of swearing, I'll tell you that.<p>

Savaris:...It is?

Pedro Boncompagni: Thank you.

Kamen Rider Ebon: Yep.

The Lord of Pages: Thank you.  
>Monty Python. I was trying to come up with a name, and <em>Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail<em> was playing in the background, and I suddenly had an image of some kind of knightmare/Gundam combo standing in the middle of London shouting '**NI!'** at all the people passing by. It was an amusing idea.

Techpriest of Tzeentch: Kunoichi Meido, Hai.

RoyalTwinFangs: Sorry, but I already have some plans for him...and guns aren't really Vergil's style. Plus, of all the Devil Arms, only one has been a firearm...suitcase...hovercraft...thing...hmm...

Trife: Thank you.  
>Don't worry, I have no intention of starting yet <em>another<em> story before I finish one of the...four...in-progress now.

DiLost: So, not good Japanese then? Eh, I'll just roll with it.

menosay: Indeed, gore and despair abound.  
>Thank you.<p>

Eddi: Thank you.

calming-seas88: Thank you.  
>I will, and you will.<p>

KeiGinya: I see...wait, there's an actual rock named bloodstone?  
>Thank you. Yeah, Vergil doesn't play around when he gets pissed.<br>Personally, I'm glad to have made it so far with so few mistakes, especially given the quality of some other beta-less stories here.

Wrathkul: Hmm...  
>Thank you. I've actually wondered if any of the characters in my stories have fallen under that label myself, although I'd like to think I've avoided that so far.<br>Heh, Like I said in the prologue, I got fired up to do this story by reading other ZnT crossovers, although I'm working using both the anime and the novels as a basis.

sayain673: Thank you, I will.

Hypothetical Spiritual Entity: Personally, I'm just winging it.  
>Thank you.<p>

Thorfaxdragonkin: Thank you.

Vandenbz: That she did, No they didn't and most definitely.  
>I will.<p>

Got in Himmel, the Replies alone doubled the word count!  
>That'll teach me to skip them. Anyway, you know the drill: Review, or Dante will steal your cards and bury you in pizza debt!<p>

**Don't think I won't do it just cause it's Christmas!**  
>Shut up you.<p>

Merry Christmas!  
>Knightmare Gundam of Ni<p> 


	20. The Training

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belongs to me.

The Training

– The Cambion –

**Mott Estate  
>Night<strong>

Siesta stared on, barely cognizant of the entities around her now, her focus entirely on Mott's corpse.

On the one hand, he was dead, and that made part of her glad. No need to drag it out, just get it over with and be done with the slime.

On the other hand...**_HE SHOULD HAVE SUFFERED_**!

Some part of her mind raged at the relatively quick death Mott had, when he should have been slowly skinned, mutilated, picked apart organ by organ, all the while alive and cognizant. The screams would have sated Siesta's newly awakened darker half, filled it full of the dark emotions it craved. But now, it still hungered, and sought out the nearest victim.

Namely, Vergil.

– The Devil –

Without much in the way of warning, Vergil found himself ducking as Siesta swiped the sickle of her kusarigama around, clearly attempting to shorten him by a half.

While sudden, Siesta's assault upon his person wasn't quite as surprising as she probably intended. Vergil's own experiences with awakening part-Devils (namely, himself and Dante) pointed towards a notable surge of bloodlust immediately after the event triggering their awakening. Dante had expressed this quite clearly in the aftermath of their duel atop Temen-ni-Gru, eviscerating a flock of Bloodgoyle demons and, showing the overconfidence that was both his trademark and a side-effect of the transformation, getting swallowed by the Leviathan. On Vergil's part...well, they were still looking for the 'Shinjuku Slasher', although the latest theories he'd heard prior to Temen-ni-Gru assumed that the 'Slasher of Ikebukuro' was responsible.

At any rate, Vergil was hardly surprised to find Siesta assaulting him. Even if, technically, her awakening episode should be less strenuous and shorter than the half-devil twins' own episodes since her devil blood was more diluted, hers was also accompanied by what appeared to be a lot more trauma, which only naturally fueled her Inner Devil.

Stepping back, Vergil drew Derflinger again, only for the sentient backsword to be immediately assaulted with the iron weight and wrapped in the chain attached to it.

"Hey! That hurts!"

_Just as planned._

Vergil allowed himself to be pulled towards Siesta by a tug on the chain, summoning Zima onto his limbs and drawing his free hand back for a punch. The intent behind the kusarigama's strange design was for the wielder to disable their opponents weapons and draw them close for the kama part of the weapon to slice into their torso and eviscerate their internal organs, the fact that the most common melee weapons in feudal Japan were spears, naginata and the samurai's katana were unsuited for point-blank melee combat only helped. This was easily rectified if the victim carried a weapon suited for such ranges, like a knife, dagger, or a Devil-empowered gauntlet with the ability to freeze a target into a block of ice.

Between the inhuman airspeed he was traveling and the force behind the swing itself, Vergil gauged the impact of the Zima's gauntlet to be quite capable of impaling a moderately well-armored man onto his forearm. Luckily for Siesta, she was protected by an inherent resilience imparted onto her by her Devil heritage that prevented her stomach from being so rudely ruptured. Even then, the knuckle spikes pierced her skin, leaving shallow gashes in her flesh that, more than likely, would heal in a short time. Quite naturally winded by the blow, Siesta was too slow to react before Vergil grabbed her by the head and slammed her face-first into the ground.

Repeatedly.

"Bit harsh, don't you think?" Derf asked as Vergil allowed Siesta's newly bloodied head to fall into the small puddle of blood and rubble that lay in a crater.

"Not at all." Vergil replied simply. "Merely enough to ensure she'll be unconscious for a few hours while we finish up here." The Son of Sparda rolled Siesta onto her back before lifted her up in the traditional bridal carry, nodding to Gelus as he walked out the manor's doors.

**_"Ooh! You're using THAT spell, aren't you?" _**Zima hissed excitedly.

**_"What spell?"_** Abaddon sounded rather suspicious.

**_"Well, you know that mortal, Dante?"_**

**_"Vergil's brother?"_**

**_"No, his namesake, the one with the second name Alighieri. After Hell got wind of his 'Divine Comedy', some of the more powerful Ice Devils had a marvelous idea for a spell based off of his depiction of the Ninth Circle. Unfortunately, it's not suited to be used in combat, but it's perfect for leaving one's mark."_**

Behind Vergil, there was a steadily growing blue-white glow, followed by the strange chanting of the Frosts, a simultaneously guttural and sibilant chorus of hissing that steadily grew louder as the glow grew brighter, until there was a final flash, followed by a gust of arctic wind.

**_"I can just imagine the looks on those idiot mortals' faces now!"_** Zima exclaimed gleefully.

– The Princess –

**Royal Palace  
>The Next Morning<strong>

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" A Manticore Knight, achieving a remarkable speed considering his armor, burst into the strategy room, drawing the attention of not only Henrietta, but Wales and Tristain's generals.

"What is it?" Henrietta asked, frowning. There had to be a good reason for one of the knights of her most elite order to interrupt a meeting as important as this!

"I-it's Lord Mott!" At that, Henrietta sighed. Mott was a troublesome person. His excesses, well-documented as they were, had been tolerated by the Royal Family because of his political connections between the different noble families and institutions, in both Tristain and other nations. As a Royal Messenger, who regularly went into potentially dangerous situations as a herald and diplomat, as well as a more mundane sort of royally appointed mail-carrier, he was allowed some leniency in his…indiscretions. Henrietta, personally, wouldn't be at all displeased if his ability to perform was…crippled.

"What did he do now?"

"He's dead!"

"What!" Both pleased and alarmed, Henrietta looked closer at the Manticore Knight. He was flushed and sweaty, and had a look of fear in his eyes. Whatever he had seen had unnerved him, an elite knight and experienced battle-mage, so much that he couldn't even keep his composure in front of his princess and her confidents and advisors.

"His outer guards are gone, only blood stains left, and the manor…the manor is frozen in an enormous block of ice!" At that, the room erupted into shocked murmurs. Ice was nothing new, created by mages with proficiency in the elements of wind and water, but to freeze an entire manor in a solid block? Basic ice spells required at least a line-class mage; something like this would need three square mages!

"Have you confirmed that Mott is dead?"

"…yes."

"How? If his manor is completely frozen-"

"His corpse is frozen directly in the front of the ice."

– The Devil and The Cambion –

**Frost Lair, Tristain Academy of Magic**

"Ooh…Vergil-san…not there…" Siesta moaned. She felt light touches on her, all over her body, making her feel quite aroused…well, until suddenly one of the 'light touches' turned into an intense pain in her head. A hiss and a hand to her head as she sat up properly conveyed her pain. "Ooh…Marteau, can you ask Emily to fill in for me? I seem to have the most terrible…head…ache…" Siesta trailed off as she took in the chamber she was in.

It was rather crudely carved out of stone, and seemed to be very deep underground or inside a mountain, given the amount of stone she could feel surrounding it…

_Wait…I can feel stone?_

"Siesta." The voice drew attention back from her strange, newly discovered sense back to the room and the person speaking. She was currently resting on a small cot that was in turn atop a stone shelf carved into the side of the chamber, covered by a sheet. On the opposite side was Vergil, in all his cool, collected and calm glory, sitting on a similar shelf. For a moment, Siesta just blinked. Then she glanced down, and realized that the only thing that protected her modesty was in fact the sheet. She felt heat rushing to her face, as her gaze switched back and forth from her barely covered from to Vergil, who just sat, gazing coolly at her. Then, as she started to really get flustered, he got up, gathering a set of folded clothes from beside him and setting them in front of her, before exiting the chamber to the right, through a small passage in the wall.

Still flushed, Siesta changed into the clothes, which she was surprised to learn was a simple black set of tunic and trousers made of some fine cloth – nothing so extravagant as silk, but still something much better than what she was used to wearing – and a pair of what looked like women's riding boots.

Shortly after she was dressed, Vergil strode back in. Siesta would have started blushing again, except that Vergil's expression seemed even more serious than usual.

"Siesta." He started, a bit of an urgent note in his voice. "I need you to tell me what happened in Mott's manor." Siesta hesitated, as Vergil reclaimed his seat, before sitting down on the cot and beginning the tale. Of how Mott had bought her contract for an enormous sum from the academy, and of the trip to his manor in his carriage, where he touched her, and of the arrival at the estate upon which he'd ordered her to bath. She hesitated then, before slowly telling him about the would-be rapists. She saw Vergil's eyes narrow, and his expression tighten, so she hurried to the vision. Of Chi no Ishi, her great-grandfather, and of the mountain and buildings in the vision. She was surprised to see a glint of recognition in Vergil's eyes, and decided to ask him about it later. Another, shorter hesitation preceded her description of the massacre she committed and of the feelings when she'd killed Mott. She expected revulsion, disgust and horror.

Instead, Vergil merely nodded as she finished her tale with her attack on Vergil.

"I see." Vergil murmured, apparently mulling the story over. "Allow me to lay out the facts as I see them: You, Siesta, are a third-generation Cambion, a mortal with some Infernal blood, the blood of Demons and Devils. Your ancestor was Chi no Ishi, a lesser but still potent Devil who resided upon Mount Fuji in Japan, on my homeworld." Siesta started at that tidbit, her eyes widening in shock. "You experienced your Infernal Awakening with the stress and danger, triggering a state of enhanced bloodlust, under the influence of which you slaughtered the majority of Mott's guards and Mott himself." He paused, letting her absorb this information before continuing. "As I see it, you have two choices right now: To ignore and abhor from using your Infernal power, and to try to rejoin human society at large." Siesta was about to speak, to choose that, before Vergil finished. "At which point you would be quickly discovered, imprisoned for suspicion in Mott's death, and summarily executed as a scapegoat." Siesta's mouth audibly clamped shut.

"A-and the other?"

"Stay here with me, and learn to control your powers." Siesta, again, found herself staring at Vergil in shock. "As a first-generation Cambion, a half-Devil, I know far more about the Inferno than anyone else in all of Halkeginia, and having trained for years after my awakening, have far more experience than you can hope to obtain quickly enough to survive on your own." Siesta looked doubtful still. "I can teach you how to defend yourself, with both mortal and Infernal methods, how to properly utilize your Devil Arm, how to think tactically and strategically, and how to harness your Infernal Energy for Sorcery."

"Sorcery?" Siesta wondered. "What's that?"

"Put simply, the magic of Hell." At the sudden look of hunger in Siesta's eyes, Vergil had to repress a smirk.

He had her. As oppressed as she and the rest of the mundane humans were, he knew any one of them would leap at the chance to gain something to become more equal with the nobility. Judging by her reaction, Siesta would be more interested in Sorcery, to counter the nobles' own elemental magic.

_Unfortunately, I will be able to help only minimally there._ Sparda had been a part of the 'traditional' Infernals, those who focused more on physical prowess and less on the esoteric powers of Sorcery. Of Abaddon and Zima, the former would probably be more help, having been one of the Original Fallen who had made extensive use of Sorcery to inflict far greater damage than he would otherwise physically.

**_"Damn right."_**

"I think I'll go with the second option, if it's alright with you, Sir Vergil." Vergil blinked, having been caught up in his thoughts.

"Very well then. Let's start immediately." Standing, Vergil walked out of the chamber, Siesta scrambling to follow as he proceeded through a passage that eventually exited into a larger circular chamber, about thirty feet across. Siesta noted several other passages, their entrances iced over and pale figures behind them. "First, your physical training. As I'm sure you've noticed, your physiology has been enhanced by your awakening." Siesta blushed. Her figure, already enough to draw the attention of many nobles, Mott among them, had been…'enhanced', so to speak. Aside from that, she was definitely more fit than before. "This is a result of one of your natural abilities as a Cambion, regeneration, which uses the Infernal Energy you produce naturally to enhance your body to a physical ideal, as well as the traditional near-instantaneous healing. While this eliminates the traditional need for a work-out to develop or maintain muscle, you still need to grow familiar with your new capabilities, your strength, reaction speed, and gain control."

With that said, Vergil took a position, assuming a form for one of the martial arts styles he'd learned, and told Siesta to copy him as he moved slowly through the forms. Watching her, he occasionally gave some advice, adjusting her stance once in a while. Vergil didn't actually expect her to become proficient in martial arts any time soon, just enough to build a base that she could eventually expand from should she decide to pursue it, in the process familiarizing herself with her new capabilities. After about an hour, they stopped.

"For a beginner, you're progressing rather well." Vergil said, not noticing Siesta's blush. "Now, you should rest. Your body is naturally producing the energy required for Sorcery, and you should have stored enough tomorrow to begin practicing." He did notice the predatory gleam in her eyes at the mention of Sorcery. "I, personally, am not overly proficient with Sorcery, but I do have some help in that area. But for now, rest. If you need anything, call for Gelus." Vergil gestured towards one of the sealed passages, the ice melting away for the elder Frost to step through. Siesta stepped back as the reptilian Demon approached and bent on one knee before her.

**_"Greetings, Milady. I am at your service."_**

– The Zero –

**Louise's Room, Tristain Academy of Magic**

It was nearly three hours after Louise usually dressed and went to eat breakfast, and there the pink-haired Valliere still was, in bed. Shivering in fear.

_Mother would be disgusted if she saw me now._

But yet…with what she had seen…what she'd learned of Vergil had been the tip of the iceberg…she'd thought he'd been some sort of hero…seeking power to more easily deal with the Infernal hordes…but the truth…

Louise had no idea how to deal with this. She could confront him…but Vergil was quite obviously dangerous. He wouldn't be at all disturbed or slow in hacking her to pieces if he thought she was a threat…the scores of slaughtered men and the memories attested to that. And that was without the demonic Frosts that were at his beck and call.

She could run…and Vergil might not pursue…but if he did, the Frosts, which had proven to be great trackers, would catch her quickly…and eat her if Vergil gave the go-ahead…

What to do…

The door cracked open, and Louise could see the brilliant blue of Vergil's coat in the opening.

Too late.

**Sorcery File: Circle of Frost**

A recently designed (by Infernal reckoning) spell, Circe of Frost draws its inspiration from Dante Alighieri's _Divine Comedy_, in particular its depiction of the Ninth Level of Hell, a frozen wasteland with Lucifer trapped in the center of it, constantly frozen by his beating wings. While the only such similar areas are those sections of hell ruled by Ice Devils, they liked the description enough to recreate it with a spell. Circle of Frost is a spell that freezes a select volume of space into a hellish ice, trapping the souls of those inside it, dead or alive, in the ice and using their torment to shape it in such a way as to forever leave an impression upon witnesses. Due to this, no Circle of Frost is exactly the same, with different visages and expressions of torment molded out of the ice's surface. The Infernal Energy required is such that only a Devil or a group of Greater Demons can successfully cast the spell, and even then it takes too long to cast to be effective in combat, taking long enough and giving off enough energy to warn a target to get out of the way. Thus, it's usually used as a 'calling card', Ice Devils typically leaving Fire-aligned Demons and Devils locked in an absolute prison of ice when they win a battle.

– The Author –

Happy New Year!

Well, looks like _someone's_ getting screwed, and not in a good way, eh?

Review Replies:

pyromania101: Oh yes, the _destruction_ heehee.

Orchamus: I specialize in oddity.

Zaralann: Thank you.

Takeshi Yamato: Played the beta. Interesting. If I ever get a job, I'll probably get in on it.  
>Well, you get that filler out, and I'll get the bio out, eh?<br>Eh, I'm not one much for lemons.

Lunatic Pandora1: Well, it's more like parts of his psyche, but essentially correct.

Viking Girl: Thank you.  
>You got one right.<p>

Hypothetical Spiritual Entity: Not at all.  
>No, not really. His Devil half is pretty much just the part of us that makes us want to punch someone in the face, just multiplied by a couple thousand. So long as he keeps his more murderous impulses under control, they don't really have anything to fear from his Inner Devil.<p>

bakapervert: You're welcome.

Imperial Warlord: Thank You.

BlackRoseFire: Thank you.

Jigoku no Yami: Thank you.

EVA-Saiyajin:…My chapters are god?

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


	21. Omake: What's Happening With Dante

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

Omake: What's Happening With Dante

– The Devil Hunter –

**Devil May Cry Office  
>About a month before the events of DMC4<br>Sunday, 1:07 AM**

It was days like today that made Dante truly enjoy life. He'd just finished a week-long job this Friday, working for some guy running a small-town electronics store. It was the usual thing, just some demon with a bunch of marionettes slaughtering everyone that entered the store and harassing the store-owner, trying to make the guy commit suicide – the typical job he did in between those major disasters that people kept getting him involved in. He'd cleared out the marionettes and decapitated the demon pulling their strings – heh – and the store-owner had gratefully donated a fucking _70 inch plasma screen television and a Blu-Ray player_ in gratitude, as well as the comparatively small fee he'd paid in advance.

Probably because there hadn't been all that much collateral damage, but Dante didn't care. Fucking Matrix on Blu-Ray, on a 70-inch plasma screen TV!

If he died and went to heaven right now, Dante would probably tear his halo off and leap back down to Earth to continue watching.

Much to his annoyance, the phone started ringing. Stifling a groan, he reached behind his head and smacked his desk with enough force to send the phone flying into the air, the corded device landing neatly in his hand as he lowered the volume.

"Devil May Cry."

"Hey Dante."

"Lady? Huh. Haven't heard from you in a while. What's up?" Dante queried, his finger hovering on the volume button. _By Mundus' burnt ass-hairs, if she's called to bitch about my debt again…_

"Well, right now I'm sitting here with –" Whatever Lady had been about to say was lost, however, when Dante heard a bang from behind, and a dozen wicked-looking throwing knives flew above him to slice into the TV, the wondrous device sparking and flickering a little before dying. Incognizant of Lady's queries about the situation, Dante's slackening fingers dropped the phone before he composed himself, slowly turning around in the office swivel chair he'd sprung for a year ago to face the front of the office.

"That…was a 70-inch…plasma screen…TV…" He gritted out, before sucking a breath in between his clenched teeth and painting a strained smile across his face, at the same time resting his arms on the top of his desk and clasping his hands. "So, how can I help you?" Standing in front of the broken down doors of his office, which had for once managed to go for six months without being kicked in, exploded or cut apart, was a blond man of modest height, with aquiline features that would be commonly attributed to those of European nobility, dressed in some hooded white waistcoat and flagrantly displaying the single-edged large sword strapped to his hip.

"You must be the great Dante." He said, stepping forward.

"Suuuup."

"I've heard quite a lot about you."

"Oh really?"

"The Devil Hunter…who dons a coat drenched red in the blood of demons…Beyond human, a warrior whose strength eclipses that of Those Who Fell From Heaven themselves!"

"Oh, you dirty bitch, work the shaft!" Dante belted out. The man paused, visibly baffled.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I, heh, I like to dirty talk when someone's _sucking my dick_."

"…Perhaps I should just skip to my point. My name is Lord Alexander DuMedd-"

"And I'm Waldo, where am I!" Oh man, the guy's expression just twisted with irritation in a way that Dante just loved to invoke in others.

"I'm _trying_ to have a serious conversation with you here."

"Oh, so am I, and I'm failing, and I'm sorry for that. It's just…I'm so agitated right now," Dante said, leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers before his face, "Because this blond _shit_ just strolled into my office, destroyed my brand-new, _70-inch, PLASMA TV_, and is trying to impress me like I'm his alcoholic father." In a flash, Lord DuMedd was standing atop Dante's desk, his sword held so that its point hovered a centimeter above Dante's nose – And in the same instant, Dante had drawn Ebony and Ivory, aiming them respectively at DuMedd's throat and groin. Dante grinned.

"Be a sport and grab daddy another beer, would you?" And then he fired – too slow though, since DuMedd had some sort of inhuman speed that let him dart and dodge around the Devil May Cry office in a way that reminded Dante of that irritating shit Arkham in his Jester form. Bullet after sorcerous bullet spat out of the customized M1911s at a massive rate of fire that peppered the inhumanly fast asshole's heels, as Dante just kept on pulling the triggers, the handguns leeching Infernal Energy to create their ammunition.

By God, this guy was gonna pay!

"Hmph. Just as aggressive as I've heard." DuMedd snarked, coming to a stop just before the doors. Dante stopped firing, but kept both guns fixed on the white-clothed ass. If this followed his experiences…

"But that will not avail you!"

…Then now would be the time DuMedd gloated and/or threatened him. The guy snapped his fingers, and the front wall burst down under the assault of six reptilian bipedal figures that Dante thought looked like Blades weighed down with heavy plate armor.

_He just destroyed the entire front wall…_Dante thought furiously. Normally, Dante was an easy-going guy. Generally friendly, amiable, the sort who'd kill you quick and mercifully. But now, now he was gonna kneecap this asshole, and crucify him with Agni and Rudra.

"These Blades are armored in the toughest of plate armor, forged from Infernal Iron! Your sword will not avail you here, and your puny bullets won't even dent it! You'll need an anti-tank rifle to get through this armor!" DuMedd declared triumphantly, as the armored Blades slowly advanced, three-foot claws twitching excitedly.

Dante's lips spread wide in a gleefully feral grin, and he holstered Ebony and Ivory before he stomped his foot, hard, the tremors shaking the office momentarily before Spiral – the heavily modified Lahti L-39 rifle he'd found in Temen-ni-Gru – fell into his outstretched hands. He braced the enormous rifle against his shoulder, the barrel hovering over his desk.

"Oh hey, an anti-tank rifle." DuMedd commented blandly. Then he realized what he said and what he was seeing. "_What the fuck, an anti-tank rifle_!" Dante's only response was a dark and gleeful chuckle before he angled the rifle so it now aimed at a wall and flooded energy into the weapon.

He squeezed the trigger. An enormous 20 x 138mm shell blasted out of the bore, glowing with sorcery, before it contacted the wall…and ricocheted. It bounced off of the wall at an angle, hit the ceiling, bounced off of it, and blasted through the first armored Blade before bouncing off of the floor and hitting the second from underneath, penetrating through the vaunted Infernal Iron plate armor and got stuck somewhere around the spine. Dante relished in the slack-jawed shocked look on DuMedd's face before firing off another round, this one bouncing at an angle off of the floor and entering a Blade's skull from under its chin, before then bouncing off of the ceiling and pulverizing another one's shoulder, said demon expiring from the shock and concussive force.

The two shots had devastated his desk from the backblast, but Dante figured it was worth it. Now, there were four Blades dead with two bullets, and one pair left. He steadied Spiral for one final shot, only for DuMedd to dart in and slice at the weapon with his sword. Forced off-target, Spiral's final shot instead went straight for the skull of one of the remaining Blades, crushed it, and rebounded to strike the floor to ricochet one final time and strike the final Blade in the groin.

"Ooh!" Both men groaned, wincing. DuMedd shook off the involuntary reaction, leaping back as Dante dropped Spiral.

"Fine! I didn't want to do this since my superiors want you alive, but if I must!" DuMedd declared, his body contorting strangely. "Now, BEHOLD!" His coat tore apart, his sword dissolved, and in DuMedd's place stood a seven-foot tall silver-armored knight-figure in the style of Teutonic Knights, visor alight with unholy flames.

"**Now, you can't touch me!" **The demon howled. **"I was born to kill you! My strength, my durability, all rival, nay, surpass yours! Before me, you are but a mere mortal!"**

"…Really?"

**"Really."**

"Really?"

**"Really."**

"Really?"

**"REALLY!"**

"Ooooh Nevan!" Dante sang, clapping his hands, sending a burst of Infernal Energy out.

**"Wait, what?"**

The floor right behind Dante and his desk shimmered, before it erupted out from the ground, creating a new wall festooned with wicked, devilish looking weapons. The Devil Hunter reached out and grabbed one of the weapons, a curious looking purple-black guitar that glowed with an ominous light…and for some reason, DuMedd could taste ozone.

Off to the side of the main selection, two scimitar-like swords, one red and the other blue, spoke through the small heads that served as their pommels.

**_"Look brother, master is fighting against some whelp!"_**

**_"Ooh! let us observe!"_**

– The Lady Hunter –

Lady, currently in a meeting with the people she and the other Hunters had been buying ammunition from, could only stare at the speaker phone as the screaming began. At first, there were some guitar chords and a staticky thundering noise before the screaming amped up, and then the other voices – a set Lady had hoped to never hear again in her life – started commenting.

**_"Brother, I do not think that knees are supposed to bend that way."_** Following this was a snapping sound, and a girlish shriek of agony.

**_"Apparently not brother, but oh, look now; I thought objects were supposed to exit that orifice?" _**More guitar strumming and now the sound of fluttering wings and rodent shrieks emanated from the phone, followed by even more screaming mixed with horrid, broken sobbing.

"Damn man, is that all you can take?" Dante's voice asked, with a distinctly wicked note of amusement Lady had never heard from the Son of Sparda before.

"…Who," One of the future clients asked reluctantly, "Who is that, exactly?" Lady thought for a moment, and then a sly smile graced her lips.

"Oh, that's just Dante." She said flippantly, as more screaming and sobbing erupted from the phone. "That's what he does whenever he runs out of ammo. Now, what was that issue about price…"

"Issue! What issue?" One of them stammered.

"I don't see an issue!"

"Shut up and take our money!"

– The Author –

…I have _got_ to stop watching Abridged Series. Next thing you know, I'll start trying to work _Ghost Nappa_ into a Scorpion's Masterpiece Omake.

Anyway, a small look into what Dante's doing on Earth while Vergil's massacring Halkeginians. Next actual story chapter is now getting done, give it a week.


	22. The 'Adventure'

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The 'Adventure'

– The Devil –

**Tristainian Forest  
>Noon<strong>

About a week's travel southwest of Tristain's capital of Tristania (and, by proxy, the Tristainian Academy of Magic), there was a beautiful idyllic forest that those from Earth would compare to the classical fairy-tale woods of Grimm fables. The sunlight breaking through the mildly dense canopy, the wild flowers sprouting amongst the tree roots and grass, the occasional open meadow filled with the vitality of nature. The sounds were those of cheerfully chirping birds, and rustling leaves in the wind…

…well, except for this one section of the forest, where the air rang with the terrified shrieks and porcine death-cries of orcs, the humanoid creatures fleeing before an onslaught of fire and ice, closely followed by a flashing, shiny metallic death in the form of seven distinctly feminine bronze golems led by a warrior clad in blue. Behind this, the maimed and eviscerated corpses of dozens more orcs were scattered amongst the similarly devastated forest floor, those that didn't die immediately from the elemental onslaught slain by the blade. To the uninformed, the sight would be horrifying, as the orcs were clearly sentient creatures, wearing crude fur and tanned leather clothing and wielding tools of stone and metal weapons scavenged from humanity. The uninformed would be quickly informed by those more experienced in the affairs of Halkeginia that these orcs were crude, barbaric and bloodthirsty creatures that routinely raided smaller human settlements and ambushed caravans for food – in particular, the flesh of human children, especially infants.

That was merely one of the reasons that Vergil, working in concert with Kirche, Tabitha and Guiche, was laying waste to what had once been a tribe of one to two hundred orcs lairing inside the long-abandoned temple about fifty meters behind them. The other reason was that the orcs had had the distinct misfortune to attempt to raid their campsite while Vergil was on guard – with Siesta, whose hometown of Tarbes had experienced its own share of orc raids and subsequent losses.

Needless to say, said raiding party had been horribly dismembered, until the survivors had fled and led the part-devil warrior and his apprentice to their camp in the temple, which had in fact been the objective of the impromptu adventuring party. And now, the collection of student mages and their accompanying warriors were rather intent on scourging the immediate area of the brutal humanoids for the foreseeable future.

One orc, far ahead of the pack, wheezed and panted with effort. The saying was as true for an orc as it was for a human: It didn't need to outrun the pursuit, it just needed to outrun its friends. Then a chain attached to a heavy weight slung around its ankles like a bolo, tripping the orc up and sending it crashing snout-first into the dirt.

**"Get over here!"** A demonically feminine voice howled, and the rather unfortunate orc was dragged off by the chain through the crowd of its fellows, tripping most of them up before it was hoisted feet-first into the air, hanging upside-down before the maliciously grinning faced of Siesta.

Below her, Vergil sighed as he felt the flaring of power that preceded the explosion of blood and gore raining down upon the fallen orcs before him and Guiche's Valkyries.

**_"Hey, it's a good spell."_** Abaddon defended himself. **_"Quick to cast, devastating to anything with blood, and perfectly designed to work in conjunction with her Devil Arm."_**

"Certainly." Vergil muttered in reply. "I do not deny it efficacy, I merely question whether it is appropriate to use in situation such as this." Glancing about the carnage, Vergil snorted to see that, of the three mage-students accompanying him, only Tabitha remained stoic. Kirche and Guiche faces were a pale green color from the bloody rain that Siesta created, even though they were doing even more damage to the orcish horde before them. Vergil frowned as he turned back, off-handedly slicing an orc in half when it tried to about-face and dart past him and the Valkyries.

Absent-mindedly swiping Derflinger out to clean the sentient blade of blood, Vergil recalled the circumstances of his presence here.

**_Tristain Royal Academy of Magic  
>Ten Days Ago<em>**

_"Vergil!" The by-now familiar cry preceded the voluptuous form of Kirche leaping for the half-devil. It was close, she almost managed to brush his coat-tails as he maneuvered around her. Thankfully for her dignity, she maintained her balance enough to prevent falling over onto her shapely rump._

_"Miss Zerbst." Vergil nodded in greeting. "Do you know where Louise is?"_

_"Isn't she with you?" Kirche queried, arcing an eyebrow. "Oh, but forget Valliere! Vergil, I've found a way we can be together! Forever!"_

_"I'm sorry Miss Zerbst, but as I said many times before, I'm pledged to be Louise's servant until she dies." Vergil stated starkly, turning away and moving for the student dormitories. The trip was short, and didn't leave him much time to wonder why Louise wasn't in her usual classes. Shortly enough, he was opening the door to Louise's room, and as it cracked open, he saw her huddling under the covers of her bed, the blankets shading her face from view under the light from the window. And when he saw her eyes, wide in fear like that of some prey animal met with a predator, her hand flicked out with her wand, and while under combat situations Vergil would have reacted instantly to a potentially deadly weapon, he was caught off-guard. _

_So, before he could Trick out of the line of fire, he was thrown back by the typical explosion that resulted from Louise attempting a spell, the door shattering in front of him taking the brunt of it. Even with that, Vergil felt the distinct pangs that indicated several of his ribs cracking, and splinters of the door dug into his exposed face, one in particular scraping by his eye, missing by millimeters. As she flicked her wand again at him, Vergil Tricked, teleporting out of the hall and into her room just as the stone wall of the hallway exploded, dust and small chips and chunks of stone scattering around the blast._

_"Louise…" Vergil intoned, "What in the name of Lucifer are you doing!"_

_"S-stay away!" The pink-haired girl shrieked, huddling further under her sheets. Frowning, Vergil took a step forward._

_Only his recent state of alert saved him from being detonated, a quick Trick to the side letting him dodge the potentially devastating explosion. Taking a moment to think while Louise recovered from the rather rapid use of her willpower, Vergil could easily discern what might be provoking this reaction from her._

_"You saw another part of my past, didn't you?" He asked. A shiver and a jerk from the young mage he had pledged to serve and protect was all the confirmation he needed. "Very well then. I shall remove myself from your presence until you have come to terms with what you've seen and come to me for an explanation." A shocked look from Louise was all he allowed himself time to see before he Tricked away, this time outside her window, and again down to the courtyard._

This is going to be difficult_. He thought. On the one hand, he could take Louise' hostility as a sign that his oath was fulfilled and leave, never returning, going out into the wider world of Halkeginia to find a way back home. On the other, it really wouldn't feel right…damn Dante…_

_"Dear! What happened."_

_Kirche again._

_"Nothing much Kirche." Vergil answered. "Merely a small matter between Louise and I."_

_"Oh my!" Kirche, with much concern in her voice, cried. "How horrible! Louise, cast you, her most loyal and trusted companion, away! Oh, let me comfort you!" And with that, Kirche leaped at him, again, and again, Vergil side-stepped her. The tan-skinned Germanian pouted a little, before brightening up. "But now, you can listen to me! Vergil, dearest, if you can become a noble, we can marry!"_

_Vergil felt his brow twitch upward._

_"How?"_

_"Ah, unlike her in Tristain, my homeland of Germania allows anyone to purchase land and a title for the correct amount of money, mage or not!"_

_Now _that _was a detail Vergil had missed in his studies of Halkeginia's culture. Then again, he supposed Siesta wouldn't have known about it, having been a Tristainian commoner, and judging by the general attitude of the other student mages this wouldn't exactly be a fact that would be welcomed. Still, if he could gain a property and noble title, then it would make some of his long-term goals much more attainable._

_There was, however, the rather large obstacle of money. Vergil had never quite been a man of wealth – obtaining a high position in the circles of Devils was simple enough to do by killing the one currently occupying the position you sought, and those of the Inferno dealt in souls, not gold – and he doubted he could get the necessary amount by slaughtering and looting bandits and whatnot. _

_Although he could become a mercenary. _

_Kirche was now watching Vergil closely. It was apparent he was interested, by the mere fact that he didn't brush her off immediately._

_"Vergil dear, I have a way you can get the money you need." She said, withdrawing a parcel of parchment from out of her robe. When she showed them to him, Vergil could see what looked like maps with scribbles and markings in Halkeginia's runic language._

_They looked…dodgy, to say the least._

_"Using these treasure maps –"_

_"Treasure maps? Those?" Guiche, who Vergil had seen walking around morosely for some reason, scoffed, trudging up to them. His face was tear-streaked, and a faint smell of wine hung about him._

_""I got them from various places like magic shops, stalls, general stores…" Kirche explained, rather perturbed at Guiche just dropping in out of nowhere to cast doubt on her plan._

_"It's definitely something dodgy. I know of a few people who just sell ordinary maps, calling them treasure maps. There are even nobles who become bankrupt because of these hoaxes."_

_"That attitude won't do!" Said Kirche, with her hands clenched into tight fists._

_"Most of them might be scrap, but there might be a real one hidden inside there."_

_Guiche and Vergil shared a glance._

_"Vergil, let's go. Let's go find treasure and abandon Louise… and then you'll propose to me, ok?" _

**Temple Ruins, Tristainian Forest  
>Night<strong>

From that point on, it had been a simple matter for Kirche to 'convince' Vergil to go on this fairly ridiculous trip, and she got Guiche hooked into it by saying he could use his share of treasure to buy presents for Montgomery – the blond water-aligned mage with the drill-like hair-style that had been one of the participants in the fiasco preceding Guiche's disastrous duel with Vergil, and apparently had him 'in the doghouse' as the vernacular went. She had gotten Tabitha to accompany them as well. And Vergil, seeing this as an opportunity to train Siesta, had brought the once-maid-now-cambion along as well, after contacting the head cook and telling him about Siesta's situation – watered down for the mundane, of course.

She and Kirche had butted heads almost instantly over their respective infatuations with Vergil, which had sparked a bit of a rivalry that saw Kirche continuously trying to seduce him, and Siesta taking far too much glee in learning Sorcery from Abaddon – in particular, she was starting to practice this one spell that turned all of a target's blood into Hellfire.

Using Sylphid as a mount, they'd made fairly good progress following the maps, and with their combined combative powers, easily routed and/or destroyed any opposing forces such as the recently-slaughtered orc horde.

Despite that, their success rate was, as now, nil.

Crowded around a bonfire (made out of the carcass of an orc and some piled timber, disturbingly) the troupe of treasure hunters went over their rather meager findings.

"So the so called treasure was that?" Guiche said bitterly, gesturing at a color faded accessory and a few dirty copper coins. There had been a wooden chest underneath the temple's alter, but it was full of junk that they didn't even consider taking back home. "This is made of brass. These cheap necklaces and ear rings, these aren't that 'Brisingamen' right?"

Kirche didn't reply. She just filed her nails with a bored look. Tabitha was reading a book as usual. Vergil simply leaned against one of the temple's walls, studiously staring at the sky.

"Hey Kirche, that's the seventh one already! We followed those maps with such effort and yet all we get are a few copper coins! The treasures aren't even close to what the notes of the maps say! Those maps are all hoaxes!"

"Shut up. I said it before; there _might_ be a real map within that bundle."

"It's too mean! Monsters and beasts dwell in ruins and caves after all! Only getting this in return for defeating monsters is far from enough!" Guiche held the artificial rose in his mouth and lay down on a spread out blanket.

"Well yeah. If you could get treasure by just simply killing monsters, then no one would be poor."

A gloomy atmosphere drifted amongst them. But Siesta's cheerful voice drove it away.

"Everyone, dinner's ready!" The cambion carried along a pot full of stew, which smelled wonderfully and made their mouths water. Of course, Kirche and Guiche kept their eyes on Siesta cautiously. Vergil was fairly sure that they wouldn't be bossing her around one way or the other, after seeing the carnage she and her kusarigama wrought – not to mention the stigma of her being a commoner with some form of magic they were unfamiliar with. Ignoring (More likely, secretly exulting in) their wary gazes, Siesta divided up the stew among them, handing out bowls that they all accepted.

After a few cautious bites, the student-mages brightened.

"This is good! Wow, it's really good. What kind of meat did you use?" Guiche asked while stuffing his mouth full. Siesta smiled

"Orc's meat."

They froze. Well, except Vergil, who couldn't help a small smirk at the others' reaction.

"Just kidding!" Siesta giggled. "It's just some rabbit I caught." Kirche and Guiche visibly relaxed, while Tabitha silently resumed eating. As the students ate, Siesta and Vergil withdrew, entering the temple halls they had recently looted. Once they were deep enough, Vergil summoned Abaddon, the Spear of Destruction materializing in its usual brief blaze of Hellfire. Handing the Devil Arm to Siesta, Vergil stood back and observed as she listened to the once-Devil, nodding every now and then and mouthing words. He watched for a minute, before exiting the temple again and leaving to patrol around the forest, in case there was anything that might have the guts to target the mages.

– The Cambion –

**_"Now Siesta,"_** Abaddon spoke, **_"You've come a long way in the short amount of time you've been learning from me – even if it is rather meager compared to my prowess. Since you're a cambion, you don't produce nearly as much Infernal Energy as a full-blooded Devil, so you won't be able to use my higher-tier spells without help from Vergil or his Frost minions, but this spell should be perfectly within your range."_** Images began to flash through Siesta's mind, of Abaddon in his original form, an armored, giant black-winged angel, gripping a humanoid figure in one of its hands, a figure clad in silvery armor with white wings on its back, a golden halo above its head. A phrase slithered through Siesta's mind, presumably the spell's incantation, and the angel twisted, writhed, and _screamed_ a scream so horrid that Siesta felt part of her recoil, even as another part rejoiced. The angel's armor cracked, each fissure in the once-perfect surface glowing red as ranks of other angels appeared into the vision, before Abaddon threw his captive into them. When it landed among them, it exploded, Hellfire erupting outwards and consuming the other angels.

**_"Ah, Soul Explosion. It was one of my favorites during the war."_** Abaddon commented wistfully. **_"Grab someone, purge their soul with a bit of Infernal Energy, and they turn into one big bomb. The effectiveness varies between how much energy you put into the spell and the power of the target's own soul – every once in a while I hit upon an angel powerful enough that he outdid the mortals' nukes when I blew it up. Heh. Good times. Anyway, there ought to be an orc or two hiding somewhere in this rubble, so go catch one and start practicing!"_**

With a brief nod, Siesta darted off into the winding halls, searching for a target. It didn't take too long though – the temple was quite extensive, with some underground chambers that had apparently been used for funeral rituals or something of the like, and she soon managed to get her hands around the throat of a particularly unlucky orc that either lagged too far behind the main group and hoped to stay hidden, or had snuck back in after the massacre at some point.

At any rate, she now had a practice dummy, in almost every sense of the word. She dragged the orc behind her, the piggish beast trying to squeal through the vise-grip she had on its throat as they exited the temple on the side opposite to the others. As soon as she was far away enough, she pulled the orc up before her, and started speaking.

**_"Now remember,"_** Abaddon warned, still clutched in her free hand, **_"This is greater and more powerful than any of the other spells I've had you try, so be careful." _**The Infernal Tongue hissed from her lips, and the orc struggled more. She finished speaking, and the orc cried out and writhed as its veins bulged, glowing red, before splitting open in some parts, clouds of reddened steam rising from the rents.

She tossed the orc off towards a small stone building covered in vines.

It blew up.

Spectacularly. With bloody red flames going everywhere, along with shattered, melting stone bits and plants.

– The Watchers –

High above the land, flying with all the grace and poise that one would expect of those of their nature, the beings sent to watch for the half-devil were alerted by a sudden flare of infernal energy – and only a few minutes flight away. Instantly, the entire group banked on their ragged wings, universal consensus achieved within seconds.

They had their target.

They would retrieve it for their Lord.

Such was His Will.

– The Devil –

Vergil paused in his patrol.

Something felt…off. And whenever something felt off to Vergil, that generally meant that something was going to prove…troublesome.

And he was proven right, with the flap of feathered wings and flashes of white, as seven beings dropped from the sky to land around him. Each and every one of them was some strange melding of bird and human, with taloned avian feet, red-masked beaked heads, and dressed in robes of white. Six of them were about the size of a tall man, while the leader loomed high over Vergil, even with its hunched stature. Aside from the white robes, they all bore chains and manacles wrapped around their limbs, and wielded staffs topped with a circular, bladed head-piece.

Oh, and they had halos atop their heads.

**_"I don't believe it…"_** Zima whispered, awe and fear mixing in her telepathic voice.

_"Don't believe what? What are these things?" _Derflinger queried, sporting a nervous tone itself.

**_"These are angels! Affinities of the Third Sphere, led by an Applaud Archangel! But…they're Laguna! They're not supposed to be outside of Paradiso except for the direst of emergencies!"_**

_"Huh. Angels? They look a little ragged for angels if you ask me." _And indeed, the Affinities and their leading Applaud were dirty and ragged, with molting feathers and robes smudged with filth. Their golden weapons were tarnished, and the chains and manacles that bound them seemed to be extremely uncomfortable. As he contemplated their appearance, the Applaud spoke, a deep voice speaking in some strange language that no mortal tongue could utter.

"Eh…gesundheit?" Derflinger spoke up from its sheath.

**_"Hold up…it's a bit old…and I'm probably a bit out of practice with Celestial…but I think it's asking you to go with it."_**

The Applaud stepped forward, its hand clenching around the staff-like weapon it wielded. Vergil calmly stared at it, matching gazes with a being that was probably a few dozen times older than him. And then there was a light, ringing tone from behind. The half-devil stepped to the side, one of the Affinities' bladed staffs embedding itself into the forest floor with a heavy thud.

In a flash, Vergil drew Derflinger even as Zima's icy gauntlets and greaves formed around his limbs. A hawkish screech ripped through the air as the angels attacked, staffs glinting in the moonlight as they swung for him. A Trick brought Vergil out of the crossfire and behind one of the Affinities, Derflinger slicing through its ankles. As their comrade fell, the other angels looked shocked, which told Vergil a few things. First among them, these angels had not previously known of him, or else they would know just how much he used his teleporting technique.

Three of the surviving Affinities disappeared into flashes of light, leaving their halos that drifted over to surround him. The Applaud led those remaining to attack him, staffs swinging for a hit. Vergil deflected a strike, the weapon ringing in protest before he jabbed the pointed fingers of Zima's gauntlet into one's eyes. As he did so, the halos flashed, photons gathering and coalescing into the form of the Affinities standing erect with the staffs before them, until they crouched into a battle-ready stance. Now, Vergil was surrounded, as the angels collectively raised their staffs, the rounded heads ringing in anticipation of their strike.

"Fools." Vergil muttered. Ethereal copies of Force Edge flashed into existence, circling around Vergil just as the angels struck. The ringing staffs clanged off of the sorcerous constructs, leaving their heavenly wielders wide open for Vergil to send the Summoned Sword slicing into their torsos. By now, the angels were looking less like purity personified and more like mutated, skinless walking corpses. Vergil had to admit though, they were certainly tougher than Hell Prides.

Still, it was about time to finish this.

Derflinger lashed out, beheading an Affinity as Vergil punched another one, icy spikes lancing out from the gauntlet's knuckles to pierce straight through the angel and slowly freeze its blood. Turning about, Vergil kicked another in the stomach, sending it flying back until it broke its spine impacting on a tree. Now there was just the Applaud and two Affinities. Stepping back as the angels stalked towards him, Vergil held Derflinger in his off-hand as he channeled energy into the weapon.

"Oh Founder, not again…" The blade moaned. The angels charged.

Vergil drew Derflinger out in a flash. The universe split in dimensional rents that tore apart the charging angels. Various parts fell to the ground as Vergil sheathed Derflinger, stepping forward to study the bodies.

**_"Ooh! The halos! Get the halos!"_** Vergil frowned as Zima chattered excitedly, kneeling amongst the carnage to pick out a metal ring that the angels' halos had turned into upon their death.

"Vergil!" Siesta's voice cried from behind, the cambion returning from practice and seeing the carnage his battle wrought. "What happened!"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing much." Derflinger answered sarcastically. "Just, you know, slaughtering the MESSENGERS OF GOD!" The sentient weapon screeched. "What the hell Vergil! Look, I know that you're some kind of badass, half-demon swordsman and that probably means Heaven's not too fond of you but why'd you have to go and drag me into it!"

"Shut up." Vergil ordered sharply, the blade's crossguard/mouth/thing clanking shut. Vergil looked closer at the halo in his hands, and he gestured for Siesta to give him Abaddon. "Abaddon, are halos supposed to be like this?" Vergil asked, meaning the general splotched and corrupted looking parts of the metal ring that were scattered across what would otherwise be a pure gold ring.

**_"Not at all, they're supposed to be representations of an angels soul and power…for them to be like this would mean that these Angels…"_**

– The Watcher –

**Albion**

Miles away, the cloaked figure that accompanied Cromwell turned towards the east, sensing the death of its servants.

"Very well." It intoned. "Something more challenging will be required." Behind it, a group of Applaud-like angels in red armor stood, a larger figure looming behind them, resting its large axe across its shoulders.

– The Author –

Alright, and here it is, the seventeenth chapter.

Review Replies:

Lucifer's Remnants: Eh, it wasn't that hard. The dialog for Alucard just seemed like it was something Dante would say if he got that pissed off, really.

pyromania101: Alright, alright.  
>No to both, actually. This guy is supposed to be a member of the Order of the Sword trying to get his hands on Dante and his extensive arsenal of Devil Arms.<p>

Jin Dante Kazama: _Vegeta. Vegeeeeettta.  
>What?<br>I'm Haunting You.  
>NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!<em>

deus-rasengan2: Thanks.

Nivek Beldo: This is true.  
>That would, wouldn't it?<br>I'm having a bit of trouble keeping them all going, especially since I'm also trying to plan out a new Seed fic…but don't worry, I'll keep this one going. I still haven't gotten to the EPIC parts yet.  
>Yeah. I'll admit, it's not looking too appealing at the moment.<p>

HolyKnight5: Yep.  
>Well, I guess it wasn't soon…and three days late…<p>

Lunatic Pandora1: I dunno, it would fit I guess…Myoznitnirn's the Mind of God right? The one that can use magical artifacts? That kind of fits with Dante…I think…I may be wrong…

Sovereign Beta: I love double takes.

Blame Blade: Yep.

bakapervert: You're Welcome.

Arkisar: Thank you. Yeah, a lot of the DMC fics I read are more dark and broody than funny or actiony…DMC2 vs. the rest of the series, I guess.

psykotic addiction: I guess it is…

Hypothetical Spiritual Entity: She sort of already has a cannon in Kalina Ann…even if it is a rocket launcher, you still maintain the BIG GUN.  
>Hehehehehehe…<p>

TJG: That's my general style, sort of Michael Bay-ish.  
>Well, they kind of had a mission, and a crown prince to protect, and thus GTFO as soon as possible, what with the army of screaming peasants led by pissed-off battle-mages bearing down on them. He (the prince) might have gotten hurt or killed, and that just wouldn't do.<p>

Till' next time  
>Knightmare Gundam of Ni<p> 


	23. The Serpent

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Serpent

– The Devil –

**Tristainian Forest  
>Morning<strong>

"So what's next on the list?" Guiche sighed, leaning back on Sylphid's back as the wind dragon flew through the brisk morning air of Tristain's forests.

"The Hoard of the Serpent Lord." Kirche said blandly. Well, it was bland until everyone saw how Siesta jerked upon the mention of the treasure.

"You know about this Siesta?" Vergil queried.

"Well…yes, actually. The legend itself is based around a temple on the outskirts of my home village, Tarbes," Siesta explained, a little embarrassed at being put on the spot. "The story goes that, in the time of my great-grandfather, a powerful gale struck the area, while at the same time, shadows overtook the sun and cast the land all around in an unnatural night. It lasted for ten days, until eventually, everything stopped. Then my great-grandfather appeared, telling tales of a monster he shut up in the nearby temple. Everyone believed him, and clamored to make enough money to get the mages to ward it, ensuring the beast was trapped."

As Siesta told the story, she and Vergil glanced at one another, for confirmation.

Devil.

– The Zero –

**Tristainain Academy of Magic**

Meanwhile at school, Louise was still skipping lessons. She didn't want to meet anyone in her current mood. She only left her room to eat in the dining hall and when she went to take a bath. When she asked Montmorency, who was passing by, where Guiche, Kirche and Tabitha were, she found out that they had been skipping lessons to go treasure hunting, with Vergil along with them. Apparently, the teachers were mad and would make them clean the whole auditorium when they got back.

Louise cried in her bed again. Whenever she remembered Vergil as she last saw him, and then her vision of…his _other_ side…she could never tell why she was crying though.

A knock came from the door.

"It's open." The pinkette croaked.

The door opened with a clank, revealing that the school headmaster Old Osman was at the door, which surprised Louise. Louise quickly put on her gown and got off her bed.

"How have you been feeling?"

Feeling down, Louise replied, "I'm sorry I've made you worry. It's really nothing. I just don't feel very well…"

Osman pulled out a chair and sat down.

"You've rested for quite a long time. I was worried, but it seems you're alright."

Louise nodded, and sat down on a chair. With a weary face, she stared out the window.

"Have you finished the edict?"

Louise gasped and hung her head. With a sorry expression, she shook her head. The Princess had, despite objections from her advisors, decided to marry Wales, and asked Louise to act as her bridesmaid. And with that, she'd been handed the Founder's Prayer Book, and now she had to write an edict to deliver at the wedding.

Needless to say, it wasn't going well.

"Seems like you haven't from the looks of it."

"I'm sorry."

"There's still two weeks. Think about it slowly. It's your important friend's wedding after all. Make sure you choose your words carefully."

Louise nodded. She was ashamed that she had forgotten about the edict because she was so absorbed with her own thoughts. "I'm terrible aren't I? She considers me as a friend, and even gave the role of being the maiden."

Osman stood up.

"By the way, where's that familiar of yours?"

She averted her eyes and kept silent. Osman smiled.

"Did you two have a fight? When you're young, you fight about trivial things. It's because young people don't know how to compromise. Sometimes, these cracks will develop into something irreparable. You should be careful."

Laughing, Osman left the room. After the door shut behind him, Louise whispered, "It's not something small…"

Louise went to her desk. She ignored everything else and opened the Founder's Prayer Book. And as if clearing her thoughts, she closed her eyes. She concentrated, trying to think of an edict. _I must think of a great edict for Henrietta._

Louise kept her eyes closed. Eh? There was a bright light. Suddenly she could see letters on the pages. Louise's eyes froze. However, in the next moment, they faded from the pages like mist. What was that? She thought, while looking at the pages.

I can't see it anymore. My eyes are probably just tired, she thought.

– The Devil –

**Tomb of the Serpent, Tarbes**

"This place is a dump!" Guiche exclaimed, rather horrified. Vergil supposed that, from his noble perspective, it was a justified reaction. Although the question was why he was reacting like this now when the previous temples and tombs they've raided where in similar states.

However…

"It's camouflage." Siesta said, stepping up with a glazed look in her eyes. The mages glanced nervously at her as she waved a hand, and the Infernal tongue spilled from her lips. The detritus and dust in the tomb's corridor darkened, turned to shadow that resumed its normal form, revealing what really laid before the group. The rotten corpses and dirty yellow skeletons of dozens of previous tomb-raiders littered the floor, clothed in everything from decaying noble robes to rusted plate armor.

The two more vocal of the mages screamed - well, Guiche squealed, while Kirche gave a womanly screech - at the sight, jumping back. Tabitha glanced up from her book, pinched her nose and returned to reading.

"Illusions woven of shadow to hide the traps." Siesta continued, with a hollow voice, stepping forward as the floor, walls and ceiling light up with runes that glowed many hues, from a sickly green to a vibrant, fiery red.

_**"Whoah boy."** _Abaddon whistled. _**"I recognize some of those wards! That one melts the flesh from the bones over the course of a week, and next to it is a paralysis trap, and that one, about a meter above them on the wall? A Soul Disturber! Damn!" **_The Devil of Destruction's admiration was apparent.

As Siesta drew close to them, the wards' glow waned and dissipated, leaving esoteric carvings etched amongst ancient runes. Vergil followed her closely, Tabitha right behind while Kirche and Guiche kept a bit of distance between them - about five meters worth, in fact.

Siesta slowed, coming to a stop before an apparently blank stone wall. She turned to face it, and then pressed her hand upon the wall. Dark Infernal Energy seethed out, into the stone, and it shuddered before dissolving into sand. She turned to Vergil.

"This is where things get tougher." She said, with a slightly off-kilter grin. Vergil almost rolled his eyes, summoned Zima and walked into the revealed hallway.

Three dozen lizard heads rose, eyes rolling to capture his image.

Blades. And Assaults.

_**"Hmph. Common scum."**_ Zima declared. Vergil snorted. Tougher? This would hardly count as exercise.

_"Oh! Say it!" _Derflinger suddenly interjected.

_Say what?_

_"You know! It!"_

_**"I must agree with the puny sword, this is a perfect opportunity for the usage of that phrase!" **_Abaddon cut in, with a sensation akin to giddiness emanating for him.

Now that he was properly aware of what the two weapons desired, Vergil could either just say the desired phrase, and get the potential embarrassment over with, or ignore them...and suffer their whining for the next decade. With a mental sigh, Vergil spoke.

"Come and show me what passes for fury for your misbegotten kind." He challenged, drawing Derflinger from his sheath.

He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he heard two female sighs from behind him.

A shrill shriek tore through the dry air, and the entombed demons charged. One Blade lashed out with its claws, intending to eviscerate Vergil.

A single swipe with Derflinger decapitated it, and the next on in line was met with a skull-crushing punch from his off-hand, Zima's gauntlet spikes digging into the brain matter before it flew back into more of its fellow reptiles. Summoned Swords swirled around Vergil in the next instant, and those impetuous demons that leaped at him still learned the agony of having a limb slowly sawed off by repetitive cuts.

– The Cambion –

Siesta looked on as Vergil cut through the main ranks of the lizard-demons, awed.

_Truly, my sensei is powerful...wait, sensei? What's that?_

Siesta frowned, but couldn't devote any further thought to the curiosity, as a Blade leaped at her, with obviously violent intent.

There was a halfway-subconscious twitch of Siesta' hand, and the kusarigama's chain whipped out, encircling the reptile's neck and pulling it to the side, whereupon the Asian demon-descended cambion gored her assailant with the sickle, the blade cutting through its scaly hide and ribs, spilling dark red blood onto the temple's floor, before wrenching the chain and snapping the Blade's neck just for that extra insurance.

Others, awaiting an opening in the swarm of their brethren, noted the Cambion's casual slaying of their brother, and turned to eviscerate her, all the while hissing their malcontent.

Siesta muttered five syllables, dark and demonic words spilling from her lips as the energy of Inferno coated the shadows of the chamber, twisting them into physical forms that twined together into ropes of darkness and strangled most of the attacking Blades and Assaults.

Two others avoided the twisting, constricting ropes of shadow, darting for the kunoichi-like part-devil. Chi no Ishi's fundo lashed around, smashing into the Blade's skull and sending it crashing head-first into the stone wall. The Assault swiped at Siesta, only for the kusarigama's chain to wrap around its attacking limb, and Siesta to pull, redirecting the talons until they sliced into the Assault! This was promptly followed by the kama digging into its throat, slicing through arteries and muscle and spine alike.

It was apparent from the rest of the chamber that the fight was already over. The remains of the Blades and Assault were either scattered across the chamber's floor, or frozen into statues that were a testament to the power of Zima.

_Truly, Sensei is powerful._

– The Devil –

Sheathing Derflinger, Vergil hardly spared a second glance at the slaughtered reptile demons, simply striding further into the temple. He passed by what were presumably the remains of previous adventuring parties, mere human knights and mages that were woefully unprepared for the demonic adversaries that awaited them.

At the end of the corridor of stone and blood, carved with darkly glowing runes, awaited a massive stone slab, with sorcerous etchings somehow overlaid that of what Vergil assumed to be similarly protective enchantments crafted of the local magic.

"This is it?" Vergil asked.

"Yes." Was Siesta's reply.

"Can you open it?" A simple toss of Chi no Ishi's fundo into the slab, shattering the dense and heavy object, proved the answer.

The instant it shattered, a malevolent hiss filled the air.

**"Finally! Fresh air! New tastes!"** A hissing voice chuckled, before it apparently choked. **"But wait...this flavor..." **A tinge of fear, apparent to even the sometimes dense Guiche. **"It can't be...Sparda! No! Stay back!"**

"Again, my father's reputation precedes me." Vergil noted, walking confidently into the wide-open chamber. There, he beheld the devil. A serpent that was dozens of meters long and about twice a man's height in diamter, of bright sky blue and flamboyant glittering emerald and all the shades of color between coiled up against the farthest wall from the entrance, shivering as feathered wings hid its head from Vergil.

**"No matter the father or the son! Stay back Sparda! Leave Ehecatl in peace!"**

That brought a true grin to Vergil's face, a sight that made Guiche and Kirche clasp at each other for comfort, Tabitha shiver, and Siesta blush.

"It brings me a small amount of pleasure to find one who properly fears me." Vergil admitted, the grin smoothly fading back into his usual neutral expression. "However, I cannot leave you be. You see, I've been partaking of this fool quest for too long to walk away from the first potential pay-off that presents itself, especially one such as yourself."

A thunderous hiss shook the very air, before the gigantic serpent devil lashed out at Vergil.

Or, at least, that's what it looked like at first.

In reality, Ehecatl was going for the exit to try and fit its bulk through, wings and all before Siesta flung her weapon's fundo again, slamming the iron weight into the Aztec devil's jaw. The resulting crash into the chamber wall shook the room like an earthquake, dust falling form the ceiling as cracks formed.

Shaking its head, the feathered serpent coiled about and hissed malevolently, before freezing at the sight of Siesta.

And then, it roared, a sound somewhere between an eagle's screech and an extraordinarily loud hiss, before snapping at the cambion, fangs flashing like lightning.

A flicker and a loud crunch preceded Ehecatl's head being redirected into the wall again, this time by the Trick and kick of a Vergil enhanced by the Zima greaves. The great devil moaned, the sound rumbling through its length and into the stones before it coiled up again, slithering as far away from Vergil as possible.

The half-devil wouldn't have it. A flash of infernal flames and a swift, downward stroke pinned Ehecatl's tail to the ground with Abaddon. A shriek of agony reverberated through the stone walls. Turning against itself, Ehecatl roared, now empowering its voice with its power over wind to create a powerful gust that threw Vergil against the opposite wall, before tearing its tail away from the embedded spear, the swipe casting blood into the air, splattering across said wall, a few large dollops landing on Vergil.

With a hissing sound, it began to burn, making Vergil wince slightly as it at through his cheekbone, fighting against his natural regeneration.

Mentally shunting the pain aside, Vergil rose again as the serpent devil coiled around for the entrance again, spitting blood at Siesta, who agilely ducked and rolled away from the acidic fluid before stopping on her feet, rising and twisting her body around, swinging her kusarigama out as she did so. The fundo smacked into Ehecatl's cheek, again sending the snake reeling.

However, the devil had prepared, and while it couldn't ignore the pain as Vergil and other, more martial devils did, it could still act, sweeping its tail out and sending a compressed air blade slicing out. The wing blade sliced into and around Siesta at the waist, cutting a deep gash in her midsection that sent her falling to the ground with a pained gasp.

A sort of hissing cackle filled the air, and Ehecatl reared up, maw gaping as wide as only a giant snake dislocating its jaw could do, when Vergil appeared in a flash inside the snake's mouth, an expression of controlled fury on his face as Derflinger plunged up into Ehecatl's mouth, passing through the roof and into the brain cavity.

A strangled gasp wrenched itself from Ehecatl's throat as he fell limply to the floor, Vergil rolling out and away from the slack mouth and deadly fangs before resuming a standing posture and sheathing Derflinger.

"Supremely Stylish." Derf commented.

Ehecatl's body disintegrated then, a howling gale arising from its corpse and forming a hurricane about Vergil. When it cleared, he was gripping a chain tightly in one fist before he walked - very nearly stomping - over to Siesta's prone form.

**_"Eheh...no hard feelings, right?"_**

**Devil Arm File: Ehecatl, The Chain of Wind**

Once a Throne of Elemental Wind, Ehecatl was cast down with the other Traitors at the end of the War in Heaven. In Hell, Ehecatl spent his time as a freelancer; a hireling for mortals and other Devils who desired his services, paying him in mortal souls and raw hearts. In the millennium immediately after Sparda sealed Mundus, Ehecatl worked for Aztec sorcerers, until Sparda arrived in South America with Hernán Cortés. Smart enough to know what would happen if Sparda encountered him, and cowardly enough to flee, Ehecatl left his employers to resist the Spanish Conquistadors alone, retreating back to Hell to hide. Centuries later, Ehecatl risked a job from Chinese sorcerers in World War II fighting against the Japanese, eventually disappearing in a heated skirmish with a Devil working for the Japanese.

Ehecatl's soul was forced into the form of a Chinese chain whip, made of storm-gray bars linked together by cloud-white rings, ending in a black bladed dart, with a vibrant, feather-like blue-and-green flag attached to the ring connecting the dart to the rest of the whip. The dart is coated in potent Infernal venom that attacks the lungs, suffocating the affected target. This Devil Arm's ability is to create and manipulate wind, offensively by generating a razor-wind along the length of chain as it's whipped, and defensively by creating small gales that can stop arrows and crossbow bolts, as well as many spells. Outside of battle, Ehecatl can allow its wielder and a few others to fly for a short time.

– The Author –

Alright. It's been a long, long, long...long time since I last updated any of my stories.

I have many excuses, ranging from the plot bunnies breeding until my head exploded, to my losing inspiration with how the latest Gundam series is turning out (Goddamn Kio Yamato...) but, ultimately, I sort of went nutso insane and starting reading more than writing, and watching anime (Sword Art Online and Accel World have some particularly interesting premises)

I apologize for my severe procrastination, and hope to resume semi-regular updates on my stories (insofar as I had regularish updates).


	24. The Watchers

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Watchers

– The Devil –

**Tristainian Forest, Near Tarbes  
>Late Night<strong>

They were silent as they proceeded through the forest, heading for the nearby village of Tarbes. Vergil was in front, trailing Tabitha, Kirche and Guiche behind him. Siesta was in his arms, carried bridal-style.

The wound from Ehecatl's tail swipe wasn't as dangerous as it would be for a full human, and it wouldn't even be a concern of Vergil's...but for a minor Cambion like Siesta, it was rather debilitating, seeing as it sliced straight through her stomach and nicked her spinal cord. Adding in the fact that it was a Devil's attack that inflicted it, it would probably be an hour or so before she could move properly.

In the meantime though, Siesta was making full use of the opportunity to snuggle close to Vergil, who pretended he didn't see the childish expression of a stuck-out tongue she directed at a pouty Kirche.

Within the hour, they reached the outer limits of the village, small bright lights marking the houses out of the dark forest. Walking through the main road, which was basically a lot of dirt packed down by the tread of generations of boots, hooves and wheels, they continued on until Siesta pointed out one particular home, which was somewhat larger than the rest. While it had the same basic construction as the rest of the houses, with piled stone held in place by mortar and a thatched roof, it was at least twice as large as the others, almost the same size as a normal house in Vergil's world.

Arriving at the door, Vergil nodded at Guiche to knock for him. There was then the sound of rushing feet and chattering voices before the door was wrenched open to reveal a small boy, about nine or so if Vergil had to guess. The boy stared for a second at the people arrayed before him, switching from Guiche, to Tabitha, to Kirche, and finally, to Vergil and Siesta.

"Siesta!" He cried, jumping up to try and hug the former maid. He fell a bit short, in part due to his own lack of height and in part due to Vergil pulling slightly away from him. Smiling, the Cambion reached out and patted the boy on the head, even as six other children of about equivalent size and probably age suddenly swept around the burdened half-devil, followed shortly by a weary-looking young man who seemed to be about the same age as Siesta.

Vergil carefully lowered Siesta to the level of her brothers and sisters, keeping a good hold on her so that she wouldn't be wrenched out of his arms by some misfortune. As she greeted them, Vergil gave the small swarm of siblings a once-over. Of the seven, two had the same black hair that Siesta did. The rest, however, showed the same eccentric colors Vergil had seen in the rest of Halkeginia. Three of them had various shades of blond, one a young girl with pale tresses that nearly matched Vergil's, a young boy with a more normal dirty-blond mop of a head, and a second girl with extremely exaggerated strawberry blond locks that neared Louise's pink hue.

The final two had red hair, the first a girl with a bright copper shade, while the second, the young man, had a deeper, auburn coloring.

"Welcome home Siesta." A tired-sounding voice called out, and in the doorway appeared a man with a graying black mess of hair, an expressionless face and dull, dark eyes.

"Father!" Was the excited reply of Vergil's apprentice, as she tugged on Vergil to approach the man. In the few steps he took, Vergil studied him, glancing over his rough, albeit relatively clean clothes, callused hands, and a posture like that of...

_Hm. Interesting._

Drawing even with Siesta's father, Vergil looked dead in the man's eyes. He met the half-devil's eyes evenly, not at all flinching from their chill hardness or the look of expectation within them. Instead, one side of his mouth twitched.

Vergil smirked, and dropped a very confused Siesta into her father's arms, upon which the parent turned and carried his daughter into their home, the other children mobbing him as he did so. The eldest son, the redhead, gave Vergil a brief nod of respect before following.

Vergil's smirk shifted into a cold, thin-lipped smile.

_It seems Siesta's family is one to beware._

He followed the family, the trio of student mages behind hesitating for a moment before walking into the house as well.

Inside, they found a fairly typical interior of a Halkeginian peasant's house. Cheap, wooden floorboards surrounding a central brazier that provided most of the heat for the building, with what appeared to be the beds of the children lined up along the back wall and some wooden chairs and stools scattered around. To the right was what appeared to be a dedicated kitchen space, with a simple wood-burning stove, several handcrafted cupboards and other various typical kitchen accessories. To the left, was simply empty space, most likely serving as a playplace for the younger kids.

Siesta was already sat down on a stool, and starting to regale her siblings with tales of her time at the academy as well as tastefully edited versions of their treasure-hunting mishaps.

It was maybe an hour after their arrival, Kirche and Guiche having jumped in on the story-telling some time ago to object to some of Siesta's descriptions of them - dragging Tabitha along with them - when Vergil noted the father standing off to the side, near the far left corner of the house. The dark man nodded towards him and beckoned him to follow, turning towards the corner as the shadows in it deepened.

Bemused, Vergil walked over, and followed the patriarch into the darkness...and found himself inside what appeared to be a traditional Japanese sitting room.

"My apologies for delaying this." Siesta's father said, pouring some tea from a tea set in the middle of the room where he sat seiza. "I wanted to be sure those nobles were distracted before I spirited you away."

"It was no trouble." Vergil demurred, kneeling into seiza himself and accepting the cup of tea he was offered.

"Kiritsugu, Son of Norikata."

"Vergil, Son of Sparda." There was no reaction about his father from Kiritsugu, just him pouring himself a cup of tea.

Vergil took a sip of his cup. "Hm. Surprisingly good."

"Thank you. Shirou, my eldest son, cultivates the herbs."

"My compliments." They sat in silence for a while then, sipping absently at the tea, until it was gone.

And then the story began.

"As I'm sure Siesta told you, my grandfather arrived in this world over sixty years ago, during one of your world's wars. After imprisoning the opponent that had been inadvertently brought along, he assumed the form of a human, and lived as one for a while, even marrying a woman of this world and siring my father."

"Grandfather was a stern traditionalist, and raised my father to respect and obey the traditions of the culture he hailed from. They built this room and hid it in shadows of sorcery, retreating here every so often for Father to learn and Grandfather to reminisce. Eventually, Grandfather hid away to hid his growing weakness and obvious inhumanity, and Father married and had children, a string of six daughters ending with me as the only son." Here, Kiritsugu paused and a gaze that had been drifting ever further away sharpened and refocused on Vergil. "Siesta says your group happened upon a tribe of orcs?"

"Indeed. They were slaughtered."

"Survivors?"

"Minimal." The part-devils stared at one another, before the quarter-devil nodded.

"Good. No need for a hunt this year." Kiritsugu poured another cup of tea. "As with many settlements in the area, Tarbes is a farming village. The men work the day as the women watch the children and take care of the household. One day, as my father and the others were preparing for the spring, orcs came and took...everyone. I was told that my father's fury upon his return was terrible. All I know is that when he found those orcs that had taken me, my sisters, mother, and many of the villagers captive, he massacred them. That day, he saved many of Tarbes' people...but was too late for my mother and sisters."

Vergil sat, still as stone.

"From then on, my father gained a reputation as the Orc Hunter, for every time rumors came of orcs approaching our area, he went out and slaughtered them. Again, and again, almost twice a month for twenty years. And then he began to bring me along."

Here, the elder Cambion paused, and reached his hand out to the side, dipping into his shadow, before drawing out of it a blade. It was a katana, short even compared to a regular katana much less Vergil's long-lost Yamato, black as the Void and with an aura of malevolence and bloodlust that wafted off of it like fog off of dry ice.

"I've grown accustomed to killing. After my father left Tarbes to conceal his youth and inhumanity, I took over as the Orc Hunter. It is rare these days, to find a tribe that will dare venture as close as the one you found." Running his thumb along the edge of the blade, Kiritsugu looked up at Vergil, and in those black eyes was a deep red glow, like coals burning in the night.

"The reason I tell you this is so that you know, and understand what it means, when I say: Thank you, for helping my daughter with Mott. It wouldn't have been good for the children to live a life on the run from petty nobles."

Vergil smirked.

"You're welcome."

They sat for another hour, mostly sipping tea and making small talk, until a shudder ripped through the ground. Neither bothered glancing at each other, instead just bolting through the shadow that separated the chamber from the main house.

Bursting out of the shadow, Vergil was in time to see an enormous golden axe, the head alone nearly twice as big as him, smash into the house from outside, only just missing Siesta due to her brother's actions, the redhead pulling her aside and throwing her to the other side of the house, the children quickly following her in a rush as Kiritsugu stepped out of the shadows, his blade in hand.

And then, the rest of the wall burst inward, as six figures charged into the house.

Each was twice as tall as Vergil, wearing bright red plate armor, wielding a large golden falchion with feather-like patters in one hand, and a large gold and red shield in the other. They greatly resembled the angels that Vergil had faced a few days ago, if larger, lacking true wings and with completely different arms and armor. One thing that remained the same, however, was the same tarnished chains and manacles that bound them to themselves.

_**"More Laguna." **_Abaddon's voice spoke. _**"Ardor, Principalities of the Third Sphere. Quite a jump from common Angels and Archangels...someone wants your head Vergil."**_

"Well, they shall not have it, today or any other day." Vergil declared, mist forming into the icy Zima gauntlets and greaves, and a small breeze gusting forth, encircling Vergil's right arm until the chain whip, Ehecatl emerged from it. "Now Ehecatl, it's time to show me what you can do."

_**"Y-yes Lord Sparda!" **_The Wind Devil stuttered.

One of the Ardors suddenly crouched and burst forth, a straight-lined charge with the falchion leading, the shield immediately behind.

Feeling the influence of the Gandalfr runes, Vergil simply tossed his arm forth, and Ehecatl unraveled, generating a gust of wind for thrust, and speared right through the shield and into the Ardor's chest. The Principality stumbled, going down on its knees and dropping its sword and shield to collapse, wheezing. Drawing his arm back, Vergil brought the whip into a steady swing, right next to his body, the speed of the whip creating a sound like the howling of demons. The startled five Ardors left glanced in shock at their coughing companion.

In that instant of distraction, Vergil stepped forward, brought Ehecatl to swing on his other side, and altered its wing to make it wrap around his neck. Then he spun, unraveling the chain whip and bringing it to swing out at the Principalities with enormous force behind it. The whip was, however, not close enough to cut them with its dart.

What did the trick through was the blade of razor wind following it, cutting deeply into the chests of the two less vigilant Ardor, breaking the shields of the other three, in both cases hurling the Celestials back out the shattered wall they burst through.

The wounded ones, their torso armor shattered and revealing their red, fleshy bodies, fell onto their backs while the now-shield-less three stumbled slightly before righting themselves.

They barely had any chance to prepare themselves further before Ehecatl lashed out of the house, wrapping around the neck and torso of one of the standing Ardors, an instant before a flying Vergil smashed into it, Zima boot-encased foot crushing its chest armor inward. The second boot followed closely, slamming into the Ardor's head, generating a sickening snap.

Back-flipping off of the Celestial, Vergil tugged on Ehecatl. A shriek of wind ripped through the air, just as the chain ripped through the Ardor, leaving bloody chunks that dissipated into particles of light, leaving behind a tarnished gold halo.

This time, the remaining Ardors moved quickly, The two closest sweeping in with broad sword swipes, as the others regained their feet. The two assailing Celestials were close to Vergil, and when he turned, they were surprised to find a confident smirk on his face. A lash of the chain whip wrapped it around one of the Ardor's blades while Vergil physically grabbed the other and stopped it in its tracks, the Zima gauntlet preventing any damage from being dealt.

Vergil kicked the one whose falchion was caught in Ehecatl, the blow making the Principality's knee crunch before he swiped the chain whip around, the entangled blade kept at a certain angle through the use of a minor wind until it impaled a rising Ardor right in the heart. Releasing the blade in his hand, Vergil turned and plunged the claw-tipped fingers into the side of the Ardor he kicked. Curling those fingers, he ripped his hand out of the Principality, at the same time tugging on Ehecatl and loosening the Devil-whip from the blade stuck in the fallen Ardor and lashing around with it.

That single motion cut both Ardors standing beside him in half.

The last Ardor finally stood, and was greeted by the sight of its slaughtered brethren. It looked quickly around, its movements growing more and more desperate as it did so before it finally turned to face Vergil and found Ehecatl's barbed dart buried in its throat.

"Get over here."

A tug on the whip sent the Ardor flying to Vergil, who caught it by the neck in his left hand. The Principality struggled, hands scrabbling uselessly on the Zima gauntlet. Vergil leaned towards the Celestial, a cold smirk gracing his lips as it gasped for air.

– The Others –

"My, I can see why Siesta likes him." Kiritsugu commented blandly. "By the way, you don't want to stand there, I painted a Soul Disturber rune there a minute ago."

In that moment, the Affinity that had been sneaking up on him glanced at its feet, where, true enough, the sickly red glow of an Infernal Rune shone. It squawked in panic, before its flesh bubbled and the Celestial burst, painting the floor and ceiling with its blood. Kiritsugu calmly wiped some of its blood off of the side of his face as a trio of dark arrows nearly the length of a javelin pinned an Affinity and an Applaud to the wall.

Shirou, standing to the side of Kiritsugu, lowered the enormous bow he used to fire the shadow-bolts and glanced to the side to nod to Tabitha in thanks, for the sleep spell she cast on his younger siblings.

The ice mage nodded back, before ducking her head and focusing a bit too intently on the book in her hands. Next to her, Guiche had wrapped his arms around his knees and was shivering.

"Never again! Never again going anywhere with HIM!" He muttered to himself.

Kirche, next to him was...let's not go there.

Siesta was staring where her father was, at Vergil, a blush on her cheeks.

– The Devil –

The bloodied corpse of the Ardor dropped to the ground, Vergil standing above it and glancing about the battlefield with a satisfied expression on his face.

Well, he was for all of two seconds, before a giant golden axe smashed flat-first into him, sending him flying into the forest. Several crashes and broken trees later, Vergil rose unsteadily to his feet, stony-faced.

_Five ribs broken...punctured lung...shattered collarbone...shouldn't take more than three minutes._

Check of his injuries complete, Vergil turned to face the approaching Celestial. It was twice as tall as the Ardors, with pale marble flesh protected in the knee, thigh, shoulder and forearm by bracers of green and gold metal, each connected by a tarnished chain. Topping this was a head with what looked like two infantile faces, one smaller one on the forehead decorated by an ornament looking like twin golden wings while the larger one took up the rest of the head. Around the neck was a collar of sorts that looked like a sunburst, while from the ears dangled enormous green and gold ribbons as long as Vergil.

In one hand, it clutched the same enormous, double-headed golden axe that had just sent Vergil flying moments earlier.

Swinging the axe and toppling a tree, the Celestial let loose an unearthly, somehow beautiful roar, its mouth a divot in the larger baby face's chin stretching wide with thing ribbons of flesh connected the two jaws.

_**"Beloved, a Power of the Second Sphere."**_ Abaddon identified the angel.

"Ah, so we finally exit the Third Sphere, do we?" Vergil muttered, throwing his left hand out. A column of flames lanced out of the air, compacting into the Infernal spear. Spinning around once to add momentum, Vergil threw Abaddon at the end of the spin, the spear bursting into a bolt of hellfire and blasting into the Beloved's face. The Celestial reeled back, falling...and then it regained its balance, bringing its head back down to glare at Vergil.

Where once the smaller baby face had been was now an enormous eye, with golden irises and a black slit of a pupil. The larger face was mostly intact, except for the shattered right side, which showed a bloody red orb where the eye of the face had been.

It roared, and this time the sound was rather less beautiful.

**_"I think you made it mad."_ **Zima chimed in helpfully.

Abaddon reformed in Vergil's hand, just in time for the half-devil to dodge aside as the axe cleaved into the earth where he was standing. Lassoing Ehecatl around it, Vergil leaped onto the giant weapon and up it, fleetly sprinting up the Beloved's arm and onto its shoulder. Ignoring the third roar from the Celestial, Vergil readied Abaddon to strike at it again, when he noticed a large red sphere embedded in the Power's back.

"That looks important."

Dropping off of the Beloved's shoulder and using Ehecatl to rappel down, Vergil stabbed down with Abaddon on his last jump, the spear striking the orb directly, chipping and cracking it. A pained roar from the angel confirmed his guess, and another blow split the sphere down the middle. Another agonized roar, with a bit of rage behind it, and suddenly Vergil was yanked from the Beloved's back by Ehecatl's grip on the axe, as the Power swung its weapon about madly.

Vergil went with the flow, digging his feet into the dirt as he was dragged along by the axe. Seeing him on the ground, in front of it, the Power gave a chortle, and swung its axe back in a horizontal blow that would take off Vergil's entire upper half if it connected.

It didn't, Vergil leaning back until the axe simply passed over him, splinters and small branches trailing in its wake. Dropping Abaddon, he grasped Ehecatl in both hands and _pulled_, as hard as he could. The axe was pulled out of the astonished Beloved's hand, and was dragged by Ehecatl to Vergil's hand, upon which he dismissed the chain whip, grabbed the axe with both hands, and swung as hard as he could.

Something pulled in his shoulders, arms and abdomen, burning pain lancing throughout his body as he gritted his teeth and smashed the axe into the Beloved's neck. The Celestial's head flew into the air before dissolving into light, dropping a halo the size of Vergil's torso into the dirt as the half-devil struggled to stay standing under the pain of so many broken bones and torn muscles.

Minutes passed before he was finally healed enough to walk without wincing with every step, and he made his way back to the house, stepping over felled trees and then the corpses of the Ardors.

At the house, past the shattered wall, he found Kiritsugu standing, holding the black katana from earlier, under which a puddle of blood was dripping upwards onto the blade.

"Ah, Vergil," Kiritsugu greeted while still observing his blade, "You've taken care of it?"

"Yes. There were some minor problems, but the assailants are dead." Vergil, noting the red-headed son, Shirou, standing to the side with an enormous bow. The boy's wrist was dripping blood, and some sort of shadow swirled around his fingers as they readied to draw the bowstring.

_"Foolish...abominations..."_ A deep, guttural voice spoke in heavily accented Halkeginian, interrupted by hacking coughs and wheezing as it spoke. Everyone's gazes drifted to the Ardor that had been pierced by Ehecatl's dart at the beginning of the fight, the Principality down on its back and struggling to breath._ "Lord Kokabiel...sh-shall smite...y-your...damned s-sssouls! The Watchers will rise again!" _And with that, the Ardor finally expired, a choked gasp and dying wheeze sounding before it disappeared as all the angels did, leaving its halo.

– The Abomination –

Heya Devil of Zero Readers! K'GoN here! Now, I know you're probably not as familiar with me as the Gundam readers are because of how Knightmare kept his barriers up around this story, but now that Gundam Age has broken his mind, I'm free!

Now, I'm sure some of you have some concerns about an insane, mechanical abomination of the author's mind taking over the writing...don't worry, everything shall be awesome! I'm just gonna genderbend Vergil and get him/her shackled to Siesta...Yuri for everyone!

[Crunch!]

[Bwhoop! Bwhoop!]

Uh...Neb, what was that?

_(That, K'GoN, was the Fourth Wall Alert. Hi Vergil. What's this? A note from Knightmare? Alright..._

_"Dear K'GoN. If you are reading this, then I am incapacitated in some way and you've taken over writing my stories for me. If you change so much as a single detail in any of them, I'll have Vergil and the other main characters eviscerate you-)_

Hah! Shows what he knows! I can turn off my pain receptors and put myself back together-

_(And then give you to HK-47.)_

Oh. Shit. Well, there went my fun. Ah Well, there's always next time.

A few things before I sign off.

First, a bit of irony here, I said in the Knight of Orb author's note that I had to read the next few chapters of Familiar of Zero...but it turns out that I didn't need any of that, since this chapter took place outside of canon events. Funny, huh?

Second, since Knightmare's gone nuts, I've been indulging myself in reading, and in particular, Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero has caught my eye. Just a cool thought, if anyone who's familiar with the series would like to whip up a Servant profile for Devil of Zero's Vergil, that would be cool...and might fuel a few ideas.

Third, anyone have an idea for a cover art? Knightmare's barely sane enough to draw at the moment, so I want to take advantage of that before he goes even more bonkers.

Fourth, I'm bringing back the Review Replies.

Review Replies:

Zaralann: I'm sure Knightmare would thank you...if he wasn't wrapped up in a straightjacket, foaming at the mouth right now.

pyromania101: Sorry about the lateness, but insanity will do that to a guy. As for Siesta, she might have something interesting coming up for her...

Kane: I dunno, going by Knightmare's notes, we're moving out of Devil territory here...hmm...maybe I'll be able to pull something off, but Vergil does already have several ranged attacks with all of his Devil Arms. Throwing Abaddon, firing icicles with Zima, launching razor wind blades with Ehecatl...he can even do Dimension Cuts with Derflinger.

Akuma-Heika: Going by Wikipedia, the only difference between the two is length...and given that Ehecatl can lengthen or shorten, that's pretty much irrelevant.

Lunatic Pandora1: I think she already has...

bakapervert: Welcome.

janechong: Well, don't have to worry about that. Even in insanity, Knightmare still updates...sure, it's using a mad splinter of his mind, but eh.

death5367: Ehecatl is a deity in Aztec mythology associated with the wind...also known as Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl...and may be an aspect of Quetzalcoatl...so...yes...I guess?

Matthew Blackheart: Thanks.

Joey 066: Thank you.

Strife Atreyu: Eh, I dunno. Maybe.

Alright, see ya all later!

K'GoN, Soon-to-Be Meatbag Master


	25. The Invasion

The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Invasion

– The Crusaders –

**Tristanian Airspace, 350 KM Altitude  
>Noon<strong>

High above the Tristainian countryside, two fleets of airships circled each other warily. One, led by the imposing bulk of the _Lexington_, flew the colors of the reborn Albion. The other, with no clear flagship by size or design, flew Tristain's flag.

Aboard the _Lexington_, the crewmen nervously scuttled and scampered around the ship, performing their duties under the unsettling, alien gazes of the strange beings that followed the thing that now overlooked the bridge crew its place beside the Captain's chair.

Captain Bowood, commander of the _Lexington_, was leaning as far away from the bandaged and cloaked figure as he could without appearing overly craven.

It was plain unnatural, whatever it was. He could barely abide its presence on his ship, much less right next to him. Even worse was the knowledge of its brethren in the _Lexington's _holds.

Bowood shuddered, something that the person on his other side, Sir Johnston, commander of the fleet, noticed.

"Whatever is the matter captain?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Bowood evaded, although he couldn't stop his eyes flickering to the _thing _for a brief moment.

"Really now Bowood," Johnston began, a chastising tone to his voice, "You shouldn't be so apprehensive of Lord Kokabiel and his troops! After all, Lord Cromwell says they are the righteous soldiers of Heaven sent to aid our glorious cause!" Unnoticed by either the facepalming Bowood or the ranting Johnston, the being known as Kokabiel shifted slightly, making a rattling sound, and coughed.

_If only they knew._

After Johnston ranted for a minute, Bowood waved irritably, signaling the first lieutenant to oversee the loading of the cannons.

Then, a resounding BOOM echoed through the air.

The Tristanian salute. Despite already knowing what would happen, Bowood's gaze still drifted to the side, where, at the trailing edge of the Albion fleet's formation flew the smaller, older airship _Hobart_. Smoke was drifting from it, and flames soon became visible even from so far away. And finally, the ship simply exploded, a fair approximation of the flames igniting the powder magazine.

Ignoring the signal flags on the bow as they slowly gesticulated the arranged messages, Bowood looked, and caught a glimpse of golden light. Focusing, he followed it, seeing a barely-visible halo darting for the Tristainian fleet.

A grimace stretched across his face, and he laid back in the captain's chair, off-handedly waving at the crew again.

Seconds later, the _Lexington_ shuddered as the first of many cannon volleys fired.

– The Princess –

**Tristainian Palace, Tristain  
>A few hours later<strong>

The council chamber was in chaos. A mere hour since the notification of the air-fleet's demise followed within minutes by the formal declaration of war from Albion, and the various councilors, advisers and miscellaneous lords and ladies that had some vague idea of war were jabbering on about 'special envoys', 'treaties', and 'misunderstandings'.

Sitting in the meeting's seat of honor was a shocked Henrietta. She was wearing her beautiful wedding dress that had just been finished. She had originally planned to head to Germania by carriage after the dress had been finished. Beside her, Wales stood in resplendent robes, his face set in a grim expression as the chaos of the meeting progressed.

"Albion states that our fleet attacked them first! However our fleet says they only did a cannon salute."

"Accidents can cause misunderstandings."

"Let's hold a meeting in Albion to sort this out! Perhaps there is still a chance to mend this misunderstanding!"

While the powerful nobles stated their opinions, the Cardinal Mazarini nodded.

"Right. Dispatch a special envoy to Albion. We will approach this cautiously, before it turns into a total war over a mere misunderstanding."

At that moment, an urgent report arrived.

The messenger carrying the letter from the carrier owl, rushed into the meeting room.

"It's an urgent report! After landing, the Albion fleet has started capturing land!"

"Where did they land?"

"The outskirts of La Rochelle! It seems like in the field of Tarbes!"

– The Devil –

**Tarbes Village**

It had been a few days since the Laguna assault on Siesta's home. The villagers, many of whom were quite aware of Kiritsugu's efforts as the Orc Hunter and rather enamored of him and his family for it, had been helping to repair the excessive damage to the house. It was obvious many of them were perplexed as to what had caused such destruction, but their respect for Siesta's father and his guests kept them from asking questions.

It helped that clean-up of the battle's aftermath was rather easy, simply immolating the Lagunas' corpses with bursts of Abaddon's Hellfire, and then collecting the halos. Unlike the rather plain tarnished golden halos of the Affinities and Applaud Vergil had slaughtered a few days ago, the Ardor's halos had some small rubies set in them, as well as some inscriptions in what Abaddon told Vergil were ideograms of the Celestial language.

During this, Vergil noted a strange effect when he handled the Ardors' halos, feeling a strange sort of thrill as he held them. Experimenting by giving two of the halos to Kiritsugu and Shiro, he found they also felt the strange effect. When he gave Siesta one, she flushed and moaned involuntarily, before slapping a hand to her mouth and blushing deeper.

This did nothing to prepare him for handling the Beloved's halo, something best described as a tarnished gold hula-hoop with wing-like extrusions and a fist-sized emerald-like stone set in the front of it. The sheer emotion caused by touching it sent Vergil to his knees, and all three of the Infernal entities in his head screamed with glee, before he recovered enough to store it with the rest of the Ardor halos in his Dimensional Armory.

Technically, they could have left in the morning, Siesta's Cambion healing having long since eliminated her wound. However, everyone had far too much fun spending time with Siesta's family.

Including Vergil.

A metallic shriek rent the air of the forest as an obsidian-black katana clashed against the steel of Derflinger's blade.

"Owowowowowow!" The sentient sword screamed briefly, before the blades separated as their wielders stepped back a bit. Vergil with Derf, had a cold smirk on his lips, while opposite him, Kiritsugu wielded the black katana one-handed, a small upturned corner of his lips being the only evidence of his own satisfaction with the duel.

The combatants moved again, Kiritsugu slicing his free hand open and lashing it at the Son of Sparda, the spatters of blood becoming several dozen kunai-like knives with exaggerated serrations and long blades. Vergil countered with a steady barrage of Summoned Swords, the ethereal blades shattering with the blood-knives, each blade large enough to intercept three or more of them. Between the two of them, almost a hundred sorcerous weapons filled the air. Still, they charged each other, weaving in between the weapons that managed to escape mutual destruction and lashing out again.

For an instant, the blades clashed again, the metal shriek and Derflinger's protestations sounding again.

Then Vergil disappeared in a Trick, teleporting behind Kiritsugu.

The Orc Hunter only smirked, and a rune glowed briefly below Vergil's feet before erupting into a concentrated explosion of blood-red Hellfire.

Almost immediately, Derf was swung down from above in an almighty two-handed blow, which Kiritsugu barely sidestepped, the ancient sword burying itself into the earth. Vergil, landing just a moment after his blade, wrenched it out of the dirt and flicked it clean.

"When did you plant that rune?"

"The same time I created the knives." Kiritsugu replied, and Vergil noticed the hand clenched around the katana dripping blood from the thumb. "I sharpened the guard."

"Resourceful."

At that moment, shouts of alarm and fear sounded from the village, and the two part-devils looked up to see an airship and dragon-flights over its location.

"Hm. It seems Reconquista is invading." Vergil stated, with a slight hint of annoyance. Then, golden streaks appeared from the ship, darting for them. In a few seconds, the clearing they were dueling in filled with dozens of Laguna, including the Affinities, Applauds that had first assaulted Vergil, the Ardors and Beloveds only more recently revealed, and new, stranger Celestials.

"Troublesome."

– The Author –

Alright, I'm back. While brief, I see that K'GoN's reign over my fanfiction work seems to have created some strife among you guys, in this Excuse Note.

**A Copy of the previously posted Excuse Note:**

_"Alright, so, obviously it's been a while, and there's several reasons for that..._

_First, Knightmare doesn't keep good notes._

_Second, the DmC...remake, I think? Is pretty damn good on its own...and it's plot, if you file away at some of the minor and major details (Replace Mundus with another Demon Lord and strip out anything hinting at Angelic Heritage, for example) , would actually serve as a damn good backstory for the original DMC games. I mean, it explains everything. Literally, everything. How Dante grew up, how Vergil grew up, how they first re-met, and why they so intensely dislike each other._

_It fits in so neatly, that I've gone back and edited Knightmare's backstory notes to include a version of DmC sanitized for Canon DMC, as well as two new entries in the Glossary._

_So, a timeline by the Sparda Twins' age:_

_Sanitized DmC: 18-21_

_DMC3: 24 (Yeah, he looks a bit young, but I have an answer: DEMON REGENERATION/AGING!)_

_DMC1: 26-30_

_DMC4: 32-48_

_DMC2: Who cares?_

_That's that for DmC's plot, as for the rest of it, I kind of like it. Gameplay seems smoother, maybe easier (where I was getting Bs and As in style rankings in the original DMCs, I've been getting SS almost straight through in DmC). One thing I didn't like, however, was the jabs at the original. Mostly, that bit in the first stage, with the wig...seemed really immature to me._

_Well, enough on DmC, let's talk about the other reason...Knightmare's Notes._

_The guy's a mess, even when sane. Honestly, I've got papers all over the room, squeezed between books, in old binders...jeesh, guy should get an organizer. Going by the part of the light novels he left off at reading, we're getting to around the Big Battle of Tarbes and whatnot, and all I've found is this:_

_Vergil gets pwned_

_I mean, seriously? That's all you had to write about it dude? Not only is it so improbable and laughable, but you don't even have any details on how to go about writing something so impossible in this story!_

_("Ahem")_

_What is it Neb?_

_("Found another page concerning that")_

_Really? Let's see...365,000 spirits of the Netherworld...Ophanim of the Edenguard...alright, yeah I can see that._

_So, with that bit of news I can start writing the rest of the chapter. When it's ready, I'll delete this and post the chapter (although I'll probably copy this into the Authors Note._

_So, see you soon with a real chapter!_

_Knightmare Gundam of Ni, your Robotic Ruler_

_On a side note, who here actually wouldn't mind Vergil ruling the Human Race?"_

At any rate, some explanations seem required.

I'm not going to bother with responding to each review complaining about DmC independently (because I honestly only care enough to set a few facts straight).

First off, the commonly stated fact of DmC being a reboot: Despite the "..." and the question mark above, I am in fact perfectly aware of DmC's status as a reboot. That said, its overall plot when 'sanitized' (ie, chopping off all the offending bits that don't match DMC1-4 canon with a fire ax is a perfectly good origin plot for everything, up to and including Dante and Vergil's already-established hostility in DMC3 and Devil May Cry The Shop being a viable business (Everyone being aware of demons makes being a demon hunter rather more profitable than otherwise).  
>For those who are mentioning whatever else from the 'novels and manga', I've already said only the games are in any way canonical to the backstory of this fic, as in I'm ignoring everything else, mainly because I've never <em>seen<em> anything else, and have neither the time nor money to go hunting them down.

Second, people quoting sales figures at me: I don't care about how well or bad DmC sold. I really don't. That doesn't factor into how I enjoyed the game in any way. It also doesn't factor into my writing in any way. When it comes to video games, I am concerned with only two things: The Plot and Gameplay. That's it. That's all that factors into my enjoying a game.

And of course, none of this really has anything to do with this story, so that's all about that.

Here, we see the invasion of Tarbes. Despite the horrendous slaughter of much of their army back during the 'Retrieve Wales' arc, they still have the military force to invade Tristain, because they just lost a few (thousand) commoner troops, risking none of their flying units or airships, as well as none of their ah, 'Celestial' benefactor's minions.

So, yes, despite Vergil's interference, events are still going only slightly jarred from the canon path...

...for the next thousand words, then things get hilariously derailed, I promise. That's when I'll put that nice bit I wrote out-of-sequence way back during the Mott chapters in. You guys should love that.

Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, I was going to continue it, but then I realized that was the perfect cliffhanger point. But the next update, shouldn't be more than a week or two (three at the most), will be much longer, I promise.

Small announcement, after this update, I'm going to start putting all of the Author things at the top and separate them with the horizontal lines from the main part, let you guys get that over with sooner.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni


End file.
